Safe Haven
by StormWolf10
Summary: AU. Based on a graphic by stay-scintillating on Tumblr. When Rose Tyler fled London and her life with Jimmy Stone for the small coastal town of Gallifrey, the last thing she wanted to do was make friends. Anonymity is key, but when Rose meets Doctor John Smith and his four children, can she break her own rules? And will her dark past come back to haunt her?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Big thanks to stay-scintillating for letting me post this, as her AU graphic was the inspiration. Search for her on tumblr to see the prompt pic :)**

Rose had known for a while that she had to get out of London. Had known it for a year or so. Actually getting out, however, was a different matter entirely. She'd been saving for some while, and had built up a steady sum that would get her by for a year or so, as long as she was careful. And so, one night, she packed as many possessions as she dared, hoisted the backpack over her shoulder, and left for Euston train station. She'd chosen a little coastal town to descend to, up in the Lake District. It was a six hour journey, but Rose figured it was worth it, if it meant a new life. It was somewhere Jimmy wouldn't suspect, somewhere he wouldn't think to look for her. Because he would, he would look for her. She'd gotten too tangled up with him and his mates for him to just let her leave. Rose Tyler was a fly at the centre of a web, and she was determined not to be eaten, not to be consumed by Jimmy's obsessive control and anger issues.

She slept outside the train station until the first train early in the morning. One-way ticket bought, Rose climbed onto the train and took a seat. She was trembling, couldn't stop it. She was scared. Terrified, in fact; couldn't shake the feeling that suddenly one of Jimmy's friends would appear, drag her off the train and back to her and Jimmy's bedsit. He'd beat her, and she'd deserve it. She _did_ deserve it, she deserved it for being so bloody stupid. She knew that it was a stupid idea, running away. That if- when- Jimmy caught her, she'd certainly get a beating or two for her troubles. But she'd had to get out. Couldn't go to her friends' flats and houses, couldn't put them in danger. Besides, she'd grown distant from them, since she'd met Jimmy. It wasn't something Rose was proud of, but it had just happened, before she could realise what had happened. There was no one she could go to. She had no family to speak of, not any more at least. She'd gone from care home to care home as a child, after her parents' deaths. No one to care about her, worry about her. Maybe that was for the best, Rose mused as she watched several businessmen and women join her on the train, maybe it was the only way to keep people safe. For them to avoid her. Maybe it was her way of protecting herself, with no one for Jimmy to use against her. Rose was protecting her friends, but also protecting her heart.

**~StormWolf10~**

Rose left the train at Lancashire, boarding another train destined for the seaside town that was to become her home. She watched the scenery of the Lake District flash past her window, all greens and browns, views of picturesque lakes every now and then. She must have drifted off at some point, because when she finally woke, they were just coming up to their final stop. Gallifrey. The name had seemed a little odd to Rose, but that was partly why she'd picked it; it was such a small, obscurely-named town that she was almost certain Jimmy wouldn't cotton on to where she'd fled to. But that didn't mean she wasn't worried. Jimmy had ways, and Rose swore up and down that she wouldn't get herself too settled in case she had to run again. A life on the run, Rose decided as she left the train, would surely be better than a life with Jimmy Stone in a grubby bedsit.

Leaving the station, however, and getting her first view of Gallifrey, Rose began to question herself. The station was situated on a hill, the town sloping down and away as it spilled out towards the sea. It didn't look overly massive, and Rose could see just one church, houses clustered about in roads so short that Rose would rather think of them as lanes. It looked small, and while the relatively unknown town would protect Rose from Jimmy and his friends, she had the feeling that she'd be the topic of conversation for almost all, if not the entire town.

First things first, however, she had to find a place to stay. She could maybe find a little B&B for a few weeks, while she found an actual flat, but that would be wasting money she'd rather be putting on rent. Brow furrowed, Rose surveyed the landscape laid out in front of her, bag at her feet and jumper slipping off one shoulder. She should have made a plan, Rose realised belatedly, she should have planned what she was going to do, where she would live, what she would do once her money ran out. But she'd been so desperate to get away from Jimmy, get out of London, that none of that had occurred to her until now. And then, her mobile buzzed in her pocket. Eyes never leaving the small town in front of her, Rose reached for her phone, opening the message. And it was only then that she realised what a mistake it had been.

_I'm coming to get you, bitch._

Rose swallowed thickly. She'd been stupid. She'd been so incredibly, incredibly stupid. Why she thought she could escape Jimmy, she didn't know. She was an idiot, she'd always been an idiot. She was stupid, worthless. Not even her boyfriend had wanted her really. Jimmy had always told her she was stupid, just a blonde bimbo, there to make him look good in the clubs, to cheer him on at his gigs. He'd only ever chosen her because she was a pretty blonde and looked good in a tight dress. Why had she ever agreed to go out with him? Why had she agreed to a second date? Why hadn't she listened to her friends' warnings? Infuriated tears were suddenly spilling down Rose's cheeks, mobile clenched in her fist as the text message remained stubbornly on the screen for all the world to see.

"You alright, sweetheart?"

Rose whipped round, startled at the sudden voice to see an elderly man in a tweed cap frowning at her in concern. Rose sniffed, and managed a weak smile.

"Fine," Rose managed feebly, a watery smile on her lips. "I just… Never mind."

The man frowned further.

"Seems like you're a long way away from fine," the man noted with some concern. "I'm Wilf, by the way. Wilfred Mott."

Rose blinked, then smiled.

"Pleased to meet you, Wilfred," Rose responded. "Now, I don't suppose you know of any flats to rent, relatively cheap?"

**~StormWolf10~**

She'd asked for cheap, and that's what she'd gotten. What the estate agent hadn't mentioned was that 'cheap' translated to 'rundown' in Gallifrey. Rose pulled a face as she surveyed her new flat. In all fairness, the estate agent had tried to explain the condition of the flat, but Rose had been more interested in actually signing the contract and just paying for the first three months rent upfront. The estate agent had actually looked a little bemused by the whole thing, especially Rose's reluctance to tell them her name. But she'd picked the first flat at a low enough budget, and now she was renting it.

In truth, the new flat wasn't really that bad. Well, only about as bad as the bedsit she'd just escaped. The thought made Rose shudder as she surveyed the tiny, one-bed flat. It had come furnished, a small luxury if the rest of the flat was to go by; the walls were riddled with damp, the carpets threadbare, the windows certainly weren't double-glazed. In fact, Rose decided, it was the perfect place for her to hide from Jimmy.

With a bit of paint, maybe she could get the flat looking alright. The rooms were small, but workable, and for the first time since she'd begun running the night before, Rose finally allowed herself to relax. She felt a bone-weary tiredness, and suddenly the lumpy mattress on the filthy bed actually looked inviting. With a deep sigh, Rose padded through the flat to her postage stamp sized bedroom and sank gratefully onto the bed. She knew she shouldn't give in, shouldn't relax, not with Jimmy already searching for her. But she was so tired, and within moments of her head hitting the pillow, she was asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Just to say, this story will not follow the film of the same name, but may have some elements in common with it...**

Weeks passed, and Rose still hadn't settled into life in Gallifrey. She didn't want to, really. It wasn't for lack of wishing; she loved the seaside town, it was beautiful. But she was scared that she'd just settle down and then Jimmy would swoop in, having found her. She was still too broken to settle, couldn't risk the heartbreak of finally believing she was safe, just to have her new life ripped away from her. She'd received several more threatening messages from Jimmy and his friends, all threatening various bodily injuries to her when they did eventually catch up with her, and all calling her foul names. In some ways, the more texts she got, the more reassuring it was. They'd clearly searched all over London for her, to no avail, and had now turned their search to surrounding areas. The texts showed that they still had no idea where she was, and felt that threats would flush her out from whatever hole she'd been hiding in. But in other ways, it was the very opposite of reassuring; more texts meant Jimmy was getting more frustrated, and the more frustrated he got, the worse the beating would be when he found her.

But Rose did her best to push that to the back of her mind. Instead, she preferred to concentrate on the stories about her that had swept through the small coastal town like wildfire. Some of the rumours she'd heard had been rather amusing, Rose decided, like the ones where she was a murderer, or an escaped convict, or a bride who'd been jilted at the altar. Other stories, however, hit too close to home. She didn't interact with the locals much, only doing so when necessary, such as doing the food shop. The rest of her time was spent in her damp flat, by herself. She didn't have a TV, but Rose had found a small second-hand bookshop down near the sea, and had bought a few books to tide her over. They wouldn't last long though, and she daren't risk splashing out on a TV, even an old one; she needed all the money she'd saved to pay for food and rent. Probably couldn't afford a TV license anyway, Rose decided miserably.

She hadn't spoken to anyone, really, since that old man- Wilf- at the train station. She'd seen the man around a few times, he seemed to man one of the few newspaper stands in the town. But other than him and the few people in the bookstore and supermarket she'd ventured to, she had kept her distance. Dodged any questions about her name, why she'd moved to Gallifrey, if she had a boyfriend. There'd been remarks, about how a young woman of twenty-three had suddenly appeared in Gallifrey with an awful lot of savings and no boyfriend, and had quickly began renting a flat without even looking at it. Rose knew it looked suspicious, it _was_ suspicious, but there was very little she could do about it. It was her past, and as much as she was trying to forget about it, trying to make a fresh start, Rose knew that the threat of Jimmy and his friends, and his associates, were all hanging over her head.

**~StormWolf10~**

She'd been in Gallifrey for almost three months when it happened. With little else to do, and no TV to preoccupy her, Rose had made her way through the small pile of books she'd purchased. And so, with some reluctance, she slid on her trainers, combed her fingers through her somewhat messy hair, and shrugged on her jacket. She didn't bother taking her mobile, it had gotten to the point where Rose had just turned her mobile off and stuffed it in a kitchen drawer. The only people who text her were people associated with Jimmy Stone, and they were all vile texts written to make her feel bad. They worked, of course, and also made her feel constantly on-edge, as if something was going to go wrong and her life would come crashing down around her ears.

Taking a deep breath, Rose left her flat. Less than a minute later, she was slamming the door shut and making her way down the road. She had the route memorised, knew what roads she needed to go down to get to the little second-hand bookshop. Gallifrey had become somewhat of a safe haven for Rose, and that bookshop was the heart of it. It was the one shop she'd really, truly, happily leave the house to visit. Even supermarket shopping was done with some reluctance; she wanted to remain anonymous for as long as possible, not get too involved with the residents of the town, and that meant staying away from prying eyes. Because, Rose knew, if she spent too much time around them, got too friendly, she wouldn't be able to hide her fear, her fear that Jimmy was coming for her; that her life in Gallifrey had been too peaceful to be real. Her flat was far from perfect, she couldn't risk getting a job to earn money in case she got too close to people, couldn't even afford a TV. But, for the first time since she was eighteen, Rose Tyler was free. Free from Jimmy's abusive, controlling nature, free from the nasty habits he and his friends indulged in, free from the terrifying life she'd defiantly been living.

As she stepped into the second-hand bookshop, a little bell rung above the door. Rose glanced up at it briefly, before beginning to look around. It was then, that a tall man appeared from a room behind the counter. He blinked as he saw Rose, looking slightly shocked.

"Oh. Hello," he managed, still staring.

Rose blinked back.

"Hello," she replied slowly, before inclining her head towards some bookshelves. "Am I alright to have a look around?"

The man nodded.

"Yeah, that's fine," he responded, making his way out from behind the counter to lean against it.

They were silent for several long moments, as Rose browsed and the man watched.

"I'm John Smith, by the way," the man announced after a while. "Doctor John Smith. And you, you must be the mysterious new girl who moved here a few months back. You're from London, right?"

Rose stilled, hand frozen halfway between reaching for a book. Blinking again, she turned her head to look at John.

"How do you know where I'm from?" she asked quietly, suddenly scared.

For a brief flash of a moment, Rose entertained the possibility of Jimmy already having found her, of having sent friends, spies, to keep an eye on her…

"Well, it's a small town," John shrugged with a smirk, hand ruffling his already-tousled brown hair, "and news travelled fast." He paused. "Besides, with your accent, it's sort of obvious."

Rose continued staring. She watched, face passive and hiding her amusement as John suddenly frowned.

"Was that rude?" John asked quietly, more to himself than Rose as he frowned. "That… That was rude, wasn't it?" Then, he glanced across the shop at Rose, brow still furrowed. "Sorry, that was rude."

Rose nodded slowly, bemused. John nodded back.

"I can do that sometimes, be a bit rude," he explained suddenly, pushing away from the counter to move down the aisle of books towards Rose. "Sorry about that. Donna's always telling me to shut up."

Rose was still watching John carefully, brow furrowing.

"You weren't in here the first time I came in," she said eventually.

John frowned momentarily, before his eyes widened in realisation.

"Oh! No, no you probably came in when my friend, Donna, was holding the fort. While I was picking my kids up from school," John explained hurriedly. Then he paused, swallowed. "My wife died, see, few months back. She always did the school run and stuff, but now… Donna comes in, runs the shop for the last two hours of business, so I can pick the kids up…"

He trailed off then, frowning and looking away. Rose recognised the look well. It was the look she always got when she'd said too much in front of people, about Jimmy. A look of fear, of knowing too much had been said, but the information was too weighty for someone to forget they'd heard.

There was an awkward silence then, John suddenly busying himself rearranging a nearby shelf while Rose reached for the book she'd wanted to look at. She pulled it from the shelf, flicking through it. And then, Rose was suddenly aware of John standing right next to her. Rose turned and stared. John, his brown hair messy and spiky fringe flopping over his eyes, was next to her, hands in the pockets of his jeans.

"I'm sorry," he began with a small smile. "I shouldn't have landed all that on you, you only came in for a book. You didn't need to hear me complaining about my life."

Unsure how to respond, Rose just smiled back a little uncertainly.

"It's fine," she reassured him softly.

There was another pause.

"So," Rose began slowly, a little uncertain. "You said you were a doctor?"

**~StormWolf10~**

It was some time later that Rose was watching John ring up a stack of very reasonably priced books for her. Feeling bad about earlier, he'd even given her a discount, which Rose had tried to refuse.

"Will I be seeing you in here often, then?" John asked with a smile as he slid the books into a plain white carrier bag for her.

Rose smiled back and shrugged.

"Maybe," she admitted. "Don't exactly have much money at the moment, and you've got a lot of decent books." Rose then paused, eyeing the heavy carrier bag as John passed it to her. "Might take me a while to get through this lot first, though."

With a final smile and a small wave, Rose was then heading from the shop. She'd just reached the door when John called after her.

"What did you say your name was?" he asked, darting out from behind the counter.

Rose tensed, biting her lip. She'd remained anonymous for so long, with just the estate agent knowing (who, surprisingly, hadn't actually told anyone. While Rose thought that a little odd that her name hadn't already been spread, she was at least grateful for that little blessing). But now, she was stuck. Taking a deep breath, Rose turned.

"My name's Rose Tyler."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: In which we meet John's children, and he has a proposition for Rose...**

By the time Rose had been in Gallifrey five months, her funds were dwindling. The cost of living had come to more than she'd expected, with her having to pay for someone to come out and treat the damp in her flat. Unsure of how much longer she'd have a roof over her head, and how long she had before Jimmy finally cottoned on to where she was, Rose was getting more and more panicked by the day.

"You're shaking," John noted with some concern as he watched her from behind the counter.

Rose shrugged, flashing him a weak smile.

"Haven't been sleeping well," she responded quietly.

"I noticed," John responded, brow furrowing as he surveyed the dark circles under Rose's eyes.

She'd have covered them up with makeup if she weren't running out. Rose only had so much money, and if it came between a choice of food, shelter, and makeup, makeup would have to lose.

Not meeting John's gaze, Rose took a sip of the coffee he'd kindly made for her. Although she loved tea, she felt so bone-achingly tired that she really needed that caffeine boost. John's bookshop, Arcadia Books, had become Rose's hideout. Their meetings had become somewhat sporadic during the school holidays, and had remained so up until October half term, as John had explained his youngest child was just starting school, and only went to school for half a day for the first half term. However, now that they were in November, they'd settled into a routine. Rose spent a lot of her time there, during the day, but she was still hesitant. She and John really only talked about books, or occasionally boring things like the weather. Any attempt at him to get information on Rose's past was stubbornly ignored, and even Donna hadn't been able to pry any information out of her.

Rose had made a bit of a joke about it, claiming she still hadn't settled in, didn't know everyone well enough. Still, John couldn't help but feel a little put-out. During their meetings- well, Rose hanging about the shop-, John had told Rose all about himself, and the kids. He'd told her about getting his degree through an Open University course, about how he was a doctor of science. He'd told her about how he and his wife had had their oldest child when they were only eighteen, before they'd married. He'd told her about his four kids; three sons and a daughter. Told her about growing up in Gallifrey, and how much it had changed since he was little. And yet, from Rose… From Rose he'd gotten nothing.

Rose was reluctant to speak, John could see in her eyes, and he didn't push. He remembered feeling the same way, seven months ago when his wife Romana had died. People trying to get information out of him, constantly asking how he was, how the kids were, if he needed anything. All he'd needed was for them to leave him alone and give him and the kids some space. He respected everyone for their concern, of course, but the last thing John had wanted was hoards of people coming into the shop on the pretence of buying books, just to check up on him. But with Rose, it was somehow different. She was closed in, reluctant to speak, but it wasn't in the same way that John had been reluctant to speak about Romana. Instead, it was like she was trying to escape, from some sort of threat that could still hurt her. From what John had seen of her the past few weeks, Rose was hesitant to make friends, to settle into her new life, as if she was scared someone would suddenly come in and rip the rug from under her feet. John wasn't a suspicious person, but he couldn't help wondering just why Rose was so scared to make friends; he got on well with her, and yet she wouldn't open up to him, wouldn't even tell him where exactly she was from in London. Maybe she would, given time, John decided.

So, taking a sip of his tea, John watched in silence as Rose hopped up onto the counter.

"This alright?" she asked, turning to look at him.

"It's fine," John replied. "Just get off the counter if anyone comes in."

Rose nodded, picking up her mug again. John watched as the sleeve of her oversized, fluffy grey jumper slid down her arm, revealing a dark tattoo of a star on her right wrist.

"What are you doing for money?" John asked suddenly.

"Why?" Rose asked suspiciously.

John shrugged, and sniffed, trying to look casual.

"It's just, as I said when we first met, I've got four kids, and, well… Things are getting a bit hectic in our house…"

Rose frowned in confusion, and John swallowed.

"I've been looking for an au pair," John continued hurriedly, wide-eyed and flustered. Still Rose looked confused. "And I thought, perhaps… You could do it?"

**~StormWolf10~**

Half an hour later, John couldn't help but worry that he'd scared Rose off. She hadn't run out of the shop, which he'd taken as a good sign, but he was still wary. Rose herself was looking rather panicked, unsure.

"I just… It was just a thought," John stuttered hurriedly at Rose's silence. "A stupid thought. But, as I said, you know about the kids, and you don't work, and… Well, I trust you."

"You don't know me," Rose mumbled back, looking away.

"Well, try bloody talking to me then, Rose!" John snapped suddenly, infuriated.

Rose's head shot up, eyes wide and expression frightened, and John immediately regretted snapping. Whatever had gone on in Rose's past, whatever her reason to move to Gallifrey, she would tell him in her own time. She was clearly scared by his sudden snap, panicked and looking like a rabbit caught in headlights.

"Look," John sighed, calming, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped, I didn't mean to scare you. It's just… Stuff going on at home with the kids, and the school run, and parents' evening's coming up, and the house is a mess… I shouldn't be taking it out on you, though."

Rose relaxed then, albeit slowly, but she remained a little tense, ready to run if need be. A heavy silence fell between them, and remained for almost five minutes.

"It was a stupid idea," John said after a few minutes, sighing. "I mean, you haven't even _met_ the kids… I thought about asking Donna, but as much as she loves them, they drive her up the wall if she's with them too long."

Rose raised an eyebrow at that, and John shut his eyes, realising what he'd said.

"They're not bad kids, I promise," he continued hastily, a small smile on his lips then. "But… They tend to run her ragged, get all their toys out and not play with them, just leave them scattered through the house. And, I mean, it's not Donna's job to clear up after them. It's why the house is so messy; I'm hardly ever home during the day to clear up, and when I am, I'd rather just spend time with the kids, you know?"

Rose just surveyed him quietly for a few moments.

"You do realise," Rose began quietly, "that au pairs tend to be from another country? I'm from London."

John shrugged.

"Well, there's no definite rulebook, is there?" he asked, lips quirking into a smile. "Besides, don't get many people from Europe down here in Gallifrey."

"S'ppose not," Rose agreed quietly, smiling slightly.

"Does this mean you'll think about it?" John asked worriedly.

Rose opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted when Donna entered the shop. The woman was a year or two older than John, in her early thirties, and Rose had quickly learnt that she was the granddaughter of Wilfred Mott, the first person she'd met in Gallifrey. The redheaded woman was a bit of a laugh, and Rose got on well with her, but Donna could also quite efficiently put John in his place if need be. It turned out that John and Donna had grown up next door to each other.

"Oi, Spaceman, what are you still doing drinking tea?" Donna demanded as she made her way towards the counter. "You've got to be at the school soon!"

John blinked, and then gaped.

"What time is it?" he demanded, wildly looking around for a clock before giving up and grabbing his phone.

"Five to three," Donna replied, watching John in amusement.

John cursed, and disappeared into the back room, only to appear a few moments later, shrugging into a jacket and running for the door.

"Thanks Donna!" he yelled over the shoulder, before skidding to a halt at the door and glancing over his shoulder. "And I'll see you later, Rose. Just… Just think about my offer, yeah?"

Rose nodded wordlessly, still perched on the counter. Donna merely blinked, and looked at Rose for a moment or so before heading round behind the counter.

**~StormWolf10~**

By the time John reached the school gates, children were already spilling out of the buildings. He scanned the playground somewhat worriedly, craning his neck for a glimpse of any of his three children that attended the school. The stiff November wind was blowing, and John desperately tried to remember whether he'd made any of the children wear their hats and scarves to school. He hoped so. And then, a small body barrelled into him, arms wrapping themselves around his waist, and he looked down to see the small frame of his youngest son clinging to him. He was grateful to see that the boy's dark brown, untameable hair was obscured beneath a green woolly hat.

"Hey there, Felix," John announced with a grin, hoisting the four year old into his arms and grinning. "Had a good day at school?"

Felix beamed and nodded.

"I got a sticker!" the boy responded happily, lunch bag in one hand, school bag in the other.

"Did you?" John asked with a smile. "That's good. You'll have to tell me all about it later…"

John then trailed off as he saw his two other children running across the playground towards him. It was ten year old Oscar who reached him first, giving John a quick hug before pulling away as seven year old Olivia reached them. John lowered Felix to the ground then, to give Olivia a cuddle. The kids were all still finding it tough, what with the loss of their Mum, but Olivia more so; as the only girl in the family, she really only had Donna and a handful of John's and Romana's other female friends now. But none of them could compare to her Mum.

"Hi there, Livvy," John murmured into his daughter's shoulder as he crouched to give her a hug.

He heard Olivia give a muffled response, but couldn't quite make out what she'd said.

"You guys alright, then?" John asked as he straightened and took Felix's and Olivia's hands as he began leading them out of the playground.

"Yeah," Oscar nodded, as Olivia grinned and nodded eagerly. "I've got a letter for a school trip though, Dad. In a few weeks, just after Christmas. Can I go?"

John pulled a face, thinking carefully.

"Let me see, eh?" he suggested after a moment or two. "I need to see how much it is before I agree. Besides, we don't know how much Santa's spending on you all for Christmas yet, do we?"

**~StormWolf10~**

The rest of the walk home was spent with all the kids trying to compete in increasingly loud voices to tell John about their day. Little Felix could be just as loud as his older siblings when need be, and by the time they reached their house, John was getting a headache.

"Right, go on, inside," he told them with a sigh, pushing the front door open and counting them in. "Coats and scarves on the hooks please, and shoes off."

By the time John got inside the house, however, he saw that the kids had already taken off, coats and school bags and lunch boxes dropped on the floor, and not a school shoe in sight.

"Oi! Guys, I said to _hang your coats up_," John shouted through the house, listening for any sound of movement.

Moments later, he was moving towards the sitting room, brow furrowing in annoyance. Sure enough, he found the three kids settled on the sofa, TV on as they fought over the remote.

"Go and hang your coats up please," John told them sharply. "And take your shoes off."

When the kids didn't move, John shook his head in annoyance.

"I'm only going to count to three, then the batteries come out of the TV remote," John warned. "One…" There were huffs and sighs from the kids. "Two…"

And then the front door opened, and John whipped around to see his oldest boy come in from school.

"Alex," John blinked. "Had a good day at school?"

Alex shrugged, sniffing as he dropped his rucksack and pulled off his coat.

"It was school," the twelve year old replied, running a hand through his messy brown hair. "Not particularly interesting."

"Oh, no, because preparing for your future isn't at all interesting or important," John muttered, before raising his voice and directing it at the three younger children in the sitting room. "And if you don't come and hang your coats up right now, there'll be no TV for any of you, and no pudding!"

Moments later, there were the sounds of hurried footsteps, and Oscar, Olivia and Felix all came skidding out to the hallway to hang up their coats. John watched carefully as each of the four children hung their coats up on the designated hooks.

"Thank you," he told them quietly once they'd done the task. "Now, half an hour of TV, and then homework, ok?"

**~StormWolf10~**

It was almost six when there was a knock on the front door. John disentangled himself from the children on the sofa, wandering to the door as he muttered under his breath. If it was Harriet again, from the community health centre, he'd scream. Harriet Jones was a lovely enough woman, but the kids had all insisted they hadn't wanted anything to do with the counsellor. That hadn't, however, stopped the woman popping by every now and then, and making John swear that if any of the kids changed their minds at any times, he was to call immediately. Still muttering to himself, John swung open the door. And blinked.

"Oh," he managed, wide-eyed. "Hello."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: In which a big decision is made...**

Rose had left Arcadia Books not long after John had gone to collect his kids. She got on well with Donna, and would have stayed longer, but a few of the locals had popped in, and Rose wanted to avoid awkward questions. She hadn't been able to get John's question out of her mind though, as she'd walked back to her flat. She'd been told a lot about his four children, and she was sure she'd get on well with them. She got on well with John, too, and the wage would be useful. But the trouble was, committing to being the children's au pair meant committing to the Smiths as a family. And committing to the Smiths as a family meant putting them in danger. Rose had risked switching her phone on the other day, only to find hundreds of texts from Jimmy and his friends, all threatening her, calling her names, telling her that her punishment wouldn't be as severe if she handed herself in to them. She couldn't do that to John and his family. She couldn't let Jimmy hurt them.

But then, Rose supposed, being an au pair would get her out of her awful flat, and would give her a wage. It would make her feel like she belonged in Gallifrey, like she'd really made a fresh start. She wouldn't be able to hide anymore of course, from the rest of the town's residents. She would probably have to take the children to and from school, take them to the park on weekends or school holidays, keep them entertained. And that would mean meeting people in public, helping out when the children had school friends round, talking to parents in the playground. She wouldn't be able to hide, and she wouldn't be able to tell them the complete truth about why she'd fled to Gallifrey. But surely, surely Rose could just omit a few things? She'd been in an abusive relationship, that much was true, and surely telling someone that would make them not want to pry…

She'd gotten John's address off of Donna, who'd scrawled it on a piece of paper and pressed it into her hand as Rose had gone to leave. Rose had been sat on her sofa for some time, staring at the slip of paper for almost two hours, still unable to make up her mind about whether she wanted the job. Frowning, Rose read the address again. It wasn't a road she'd come across since she'd moved to Gallifrey; it wasn't in the route between herself and the bookshop. But, she decided, it couldn't be that far. She wandered for a while, walking away from the direction of her flat to try and find the road John lived in. It couldn't be that far away, she decided, as it was a small town. At a guess, Rose would say it was somewhere between the nearest primary school and Arcadia Books.

It didn't take her that long to find it, and Rose took a deep breath as she stared at the large wooden door. 10 Newman Road. The house looked rather big, detached and with off-street parking and a garage, and Rose noticed that they were down a rather posh road in the town. The houses were more spread out, fewer houses down each road, and she guessed that this was the expensive end of town, unlike where her flat was. She'd guess there were probably four or five bedrooms, most likely all taken up by John's four children and himself, and she suddenly had a worrying thought about whether this au pair job came with accommodation. Unless it proved to be bigger on the inside, Rose couldn't see how they would possibly have enough room to accommodate her. She was starting to lose her nerve, Rose realised, and swallowed thickly. It was now or never.

She started forward and knocked the door loudly, listening as she heard approaching footsteps. The door suddenly opened then, and Rose watched as John's expression morphed from one of annoyance to one of surprise.

"Oh," John murmured, wide-eyed and surprised. "Hello."

**~StormWolf10~**

"So you'll take the job?" John asked in clarification, brow furrowed.

"Six month contract," Rose responded calmly. "We'll see how it goes. And extend it if we both think it went well."

John blinked and sat back in his chair. The kids were all watching TV in the sitting room, and John had taken Rose through to the kitchen diner to discuss the job with her.

"Six months," he echoed, leaning forward again and placing his clasped hands on the wooden dining table. "A six month contract. That will take us up to, what, April?"

Rose nodded.

"Six months," she agreed quietly. "And depending on what happens between now and then, you may no longer want me in your house."

John frowned at that; it didn't sound particularly reassuring. But, he trusted Rose. She'd told him nothing but he trusted her. She'd get on well with the kids, he got on well with her, and quite frankly, he was clutching at straws now; it had been seven months since his wife had died, seven months since he'd become a widower and a single father, all because of some idiot twenty year old driving whilst on the phone. He needed help, to get the kids to and from school, to make sure they remembered their homework, had their lunch boxes, weren't wearing each other's school jumpers (he'd sent Felix to school in Olivia's jumpers more times than he'd care to admit now). He needed someone to keep an eye on the kids so that he could sort out the finances for the bookshop, get the bills paid, earn money. And Rose was his last option.

"Right," John managed eventually, still a little baffled by the situation. "Ok."

"Yeah?" Rose asked worriedly.

John nodded, watching as Rose played with the ends of her long blonde hair.

"Yeah," he replied. "Six months. Call it a trial run." He paused. "When can you move in?"

"Where will I stay?" Rose countered quickly.

"We have a loft room," John responded calmly. "En suite bathroom and all. Not much, I know, but I can show you it, if you want."

Rose nodded, smiling weakly.

**~StormWolf10~**

"We'll move everything out, of course," John told her, wrinkling his nose at all the cardboard boxes filling the loft room. "This stuff can go in the garage." Then he paused. "Actually, no. Most of it can go to the charity shop. I'll have to get the kids to go through them; it's mostly their old toys."

Rose nodded, remaining quiet. The room was more than a decent size, probably the size of her current flat. It was absolutely fine for her, and she was pleased to note that there was no damp, either.

"Where are you even living at the moment?" John asked suddenly. "I'll have to come pick up your stuff."

"Don't have much," Rose replied with a shrug, before frowning. "Don't even own a bed." At John's confused look, she elaborated. "My flat came ready-furnished. Cheap little place, full of damp, up on the hill. Lambert Road."

John's eyes widened in realisation.

"32B Lambert Road?" John asked, apparently shocked.

Rose nodded, brow furrowed. John cursed.

"You're paying far too much for that place," John told him, conviction in his tone. "It's a rip-off. The guy who owns the property, Harry Saxon, he was a local lad. I went to school with him. He was always slimy… Never does any maintenance on his properties. The estate agents have been desperate to rent that place for months, but there have been no takers… Until you."

Rose shrugged, picking at her nails.

"I was desperate," Rose mumbled, hair obscuring her face from John's view. "Had nowhere else to live, and it was the cheapest they had."

"You came here without anywhere to live?" John asked in confusion.

Rose nodded, biting her lip and looking away.

"Had to get out of London," she explained, looking around the room. "Abusive relationship."

And then, before John could reply, Rose was moving across the room.

"Think the bed could go here, yeah?" she asked.

**~StormWolf10~**

"Abusive relationship, eh?" Mickey Smith asked, eyebrow quirked as he sipped his beer. "Maybe she murdered him."

John gave his friend an incredulous look before shaking his head.

"For a computer technician, you can be rather thick sometimes," John told his friend, reaching for his beer.

Mickey just shrugged and smirked.

"Just a guess," Mickey responded. "Maybe he went for her, yeah, and she grabbed a knife. Didn't mean to, but stabbed him. Left him to bleed to death."

John rolled his eyes. It was Friday night, two days since Rose had agreed to be his au pair, and John Smith was in the pub with a few of his friends. Donna's Mum, Sylvia, was babysitting the kids, as Rose didn't start until the next day. Well, she was moving in the next day. He'd gotten the loft room cleared and furnished the room in record time, with help from his kids, Wilf and Donna. Wilf had recently moved in with Donna and Sylvia, and he'd been more than happy to give John the furniture from his old spare bedroom, as well as a sofa and a coffee table.

"Don't be an idiot, Mickey," Donna groused, glaring across the table at the man. "I highly doubt Rose has murdered anybody."

"But how do _you_ know?" Mickey asked smugly. "Has she told you anything about herself? Where she's from? Why she picked Gallifrey, of all places?"

"Just leave it, Mickey," the Doctor sighed in annoyance. "And if or when you come round after Rose has begun working for me, don't you dare ask. She'll open up to us in her own time."

Mickey muttered something as he took another swig of beer. Just then, the tall, lanky frame of Jack Harkness flopped onto the bench seat beside Mickey.

"So," the American asked with a grin. "What are we talking about?"

"Mickey thinks my new au pair is a murderer," John sighed.

"Well," Jack chuckled, blue eyes sparkling, "you gotta admit it, Johnny boy. The whole town is saying it." He paused then, frowned. "Well, actually there are several rumours. That she's a murderer, that she's a druggie, that her fiancé jilted her on their wedding day…"

Donna shifted uneasily in her seat, and John quick moved to change the topic.

"She was in an abusive relationship," he told Jack quietly, leaning forward across the table. "And for god sake, don't spread it around. Just drop it, will you?" Then he sat back in the booth, relaxing. "Anyway, how have things been at work?"

**~StormWolf10~**

The next morning, John drove up to Rose's flat, despite her insistence that she could walk to his. He'd left Alex in charge at the house, making all the children promise that they wouldn't wreck the place in the half hour he was gone.

"You alright?" John asked as Rose climbed into his car, all her possessions stuffed in her rucksack.

Rose managed a smile, and nodded.

"Bit nervous," she admitted softly. Then she frowned. "Are you _sure_ the kids will like me?"

"Yeah," John nodded calmly, as he pulled away from Rose's- now old- flat. "They'll love you. Especially Felix and Livvy. Might take them a little while, though." He paused then, frowning slightly as he continued down the road. "Though Livvy might prefer you to call her Olivia for a while, just until she gets used to you. Or she might not, I don't know…" John's voice grew quiet then, regretful. "She's not been talking much, recently. Keeps herself to herself whenever possible." Then, his voice had returned to normal volume. "But she can still give the boys a run for their money when she wants to be heard. She can be very chatty when I pick her up from school, wanting to tell me what she's done…"

Rose smiled, watching John carefully.

"The two older boys, of course," John continued suddenly as he turned a corner, "they might be a bit more wary. Oscar will be polite enough, just a bit unsure. But Alex… He's getting to that difficult stage, started senior school beginning of September, and turned twelve a few days later. He's a nice enough boy, given half the chance, but…" John shook his head, sighing.

"He misses his Mum," Rose concluded quietly.

John nodded, sniffing and keeping his gaze on the road to try and hide the tears welling in his eyes.

"Yeah," he agreed quietly. "Well, they all do. But Alex is finding it difficult. They all are, in their own way. Alex and Oscar are old enough to really understand what happened; Livvy's struggling in a house full of boys, and Felix… I don't think Felix really knows what's going on anymore. He was only three when it happened…"

Rose remained silent.

**~StormWolf10~**

Pulling up to the house, Rose decided it was just as intimidating as the first time she'd been there. Silently, she followed John to the door, watching as he unlocked it and ushered her inside. She dutifully slipped her shoes off; noting that it looked like none of the kids wore shoes in the house either, if the line of Converses on the floor were anything to go by. She shrugged off her jacket too, and John hooked it on an empty hook.

"Each of the kids have their own hook," John explained with a slightly embarrassed grin. "In age order. Alex's is first, then Oscar's, Livvy's, and Felix's."

Rose nodded in understanding, glancing at the hooks again. By the looks of it, John's hook was closest to the door, followed by an empty hook, and then, as John had said, all the kids' hooks. Rose's was beside Felix's coat, and there was one spare hook remaining, presumably for guests. Rose figured that the empty hook between John's and Alex's had belonged to John's wife, but she didn't want to ask.

"You follow me through, and I'll introduce you to the kids, then show you around properly," John told her with a small smile as he tugged at the laces of his own Converses.

A few moments of hopping, and then John had tugged his shoes off, and was leading Rose out of the small entrance and into what seemed to be a large hallway, with the stairs slightly to the right. Through the archway, Rose could see the kitchen diner, where she and John had discussed the contract. The Smiths, Rose decided, evidently liked the colour blue, as she stepped from the dark blue hallway into the lighter blue sitting room. She watched nervously as John clapped his hands together and crossed to the sofa in a few long strides to take the TV remote from his eldest child and switch the TV off.

"Rose is here," John spoke over the annoyed protests of the children. "You all need to come and say hello."

Rose stood awkwardly in the sitting room doorway, watching as the kids clambered off the sofas to stand where Rose could see them. The youngest- Felix, if Rose remembered correctly- scrambled to John's side, one hand clutching at John's jumper as he half-hid behind his Dad. None of the children looked willing to introduce themselves.

"Um, I'm Rose," Rose began after a few moments, uncertain but needing to break the tense silence. Then, she managed a small wave and a- hopefully disarming- smile. "Hi."

There was silence again, after that, for several long moments until Alex glanced at his Dad. John nodded, reassuring. Taking a deep breath, Alex stepped forward, closing the distance between himself and Rose.

"Alex," Alex introduced himself, managing a small smile as he offered Rose his hand. "I'm 12."

Rose smiled, and shook his hand, watching as Alex then retreated, clearly assuming he'd done his part in the introductions and was free to return to whatever he'd been doing.

"I'm Oscar," Oscar piped up uncertainly, still leaning against the back of the sofa.

Olivia glanced at her two older brothers, settling herself in between the two of them for protection.

"Olivia," she stated quietly, giving Rose a small smile.

"And this," John broke in, running his hand through his youngest son's messy, slightly curly brown hair, "is Felix." He glanced down at his youngest son, smiling. "You're the baby of the family, aren't you?"

Felix nodded, still watching Rose warily as he clung to a somewhat battered Tigger toy. There was an awkward silence then, Rose wiping her somewhat sweaty palms on her jeans uncertainly, while the three younger children watched her curiously and Alex fiddled with his mobile.

"Ok," John began after a few moments when it became clear the children had nothing else they wanted to say, "I'm going to show Rose around the house, and then I need to have a chat with her in the kitchen. Will you four be alright in here?"

The three older children nodded, but Felix was still somewhat attached to his Dad's jumper, uncertain and unwilling to let go.

"I'll take him," Alex sighed, slipping his phone into his pocket and crossing the room to lift his brother into his arms.

Felix readily obliged, his arms going round Alex's neck. Seemingly satisfied, John led Rose from the room.

**~StormWolf10~**

"Sorry about that," John told Rose half an hour later as they sat in the kitchen diner. "Believe me, they're not usually that quiet. Usually can't get them to shut up…"

"It's fine," Rose interrupted with a small smile. "They've been through a lot recently, and on top of that, have a virtual stranger moving in to look after them. Give them a few days, at least."

John nodded reluctantly, and sat back in his chair for a few moments before suddenly leaning forward again.

"Right!" he announced enthusiastically, all concerns suddenly forgotten. "Better sort through your duties…"

Rose nodded, a little surprised by his sudden change of mood.

"You'll be taking Oscar, Livvy and Felix to and from school on the weekdays," John explained calmly, taking a sip of tea. "Don't worry about Alex, he makes his own way to school and back now. If you could get them up and dressed in the morning too, that would help. I can be down here, sorting breakfast while you do that, see."

Rose nodded, getting the feeling that it wouldn't be a normal au pair job. She'd already had her suspicions, what with her being from London rather than another European country, but her duties just seemed to confirm it; she'd done research, knew that- strictly speaking- she should be doing the children's breakfast and lunch, too. But it seemed John would rather do that, and she wasn't going to protest.

"Don't worry about the laundry, either," John continued. "I don't see the point in you having to do that if I've got to do washing anyway… Although, if they come back from school covered in mud, or something, I'd appreciate it if you could wash their uniform." He paused then, thinking. "I think that's it. I mean, obviously, helping them with homework too, because that gets done when they come in from school. And if you could do a quick tidy up during the day, while they're at school…"

John trailed off then, grimacing.

"Not sure I quite like the sound of this, actually," he admitted, a little embarrassed. At Rose's worried look, he hastened to continue. "I mean, of course, I'll hire you, I need help with the kids. I just mean… This whole au pair thing, with you doing cleaning around the house, and tidying up after the kids, and doing their washing for them… I don't know. It seems a little… Weird. I mean, I'd appreciate it if you could tidy up every now and then, particularly if things get spilt at breakfast, or Livvy and Felix leave toys lying around, but really, you don't have to do the housework."

"I don't mind," Rose shrugged responding quietly. "It's nothing I didn't do when I was living with my boyfriend."

John still looked a little uneasy, but nodded.

"If you wouldn't mind, then," he responded, apparently still a little uneasy about it.

"I don't," Rose cut in voice still quiet, but resolute, smiling slightly. "Besides, you got me out of that cramped little flat, didn't you?"

"And of course, you're welcome to join us in the evenings," John continued suddenly. "Plenty of room at the table during dinner, and we mostly just watch TV or play games in the evening. Or you could go to your room, up to you…"

"I'll think about it," Rose promised quietly, giving John another small smile.

"Good," John replied resolutely, smiling. And then, he leant across the table, grasping Rose's hand. "Thanks for this, Rose."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: In which Rose spends her first night with the Smiths…**

By early Saturday evening, the children were beginning to warm to Rose. She was warming to them, too, although a little more reluctantly. While the children were reserved because they didn't know what Rose was like, Rose herself was reserved because she was determined not to get too close. Ever since John had shown her around the house that morning, ever since the six of them had eaten lunch together in the sitting room while the children watched TV, Rose had found she had to keep reminding herself that she only had a six month contract, and that she'd insisted on that for a reason. Jimmy Stone. She still didn't know what would happen, whether Jimmy would finally give up and leave her alone (she doubted that; she'd been too involved in his… _business_), or whether he'd finally find her. And if he found her, if there was any inkling he was heading for Gallifrey, Rose would have to up and leave. Already, she had a feeling that would be difficult; John's children seemed great, if a little wary of her, and John himself had been wonderfully supportive. But the closer she got, the closer she allowed herself to get, the more chance that Jimmy would use them, hurt them to hurt her. She couldn't let them be hurt. She wasn't worth that, wasn't worth them getting hurt. And so, she continually reminded herself, throughout the day, that she was there only to work, to take the children to and from school, and care for them while John was at work. John was her employer, not her friend, and Rose was doing her best to keep it like that.

But then they were settling down in the sitting room, spread out across the three sofas to watch a film, with a takeaway pizza, and Rose found herself wedged between the arm of the sofa she was on and little Olivia. The girl had remained shy throughout the day, as had Felix, and Alex had been more interested in his phone. Only Oscar had been really talkative, telling Rose about how John had even burnt pizza in the first few weeks without their Mum. Bringing herself back to the present, Rose suddenly became very much aware of how close the seven year old girl was sitting, and looked down to see that Olivia was smiling shyly at her, pizza topping smeared round her face. Rose smiled back, stifling a giggle, and a sigh from one of the other sofas told Rose that Felix was probably in a similar state. A glance over assured her that John was busy trying to wipe off the tomato sauce from the boy's face.

Oscar and Alex were busy arguing over which film to watch, and finally John interrupted.

"Why don't we have a vote, hmm?" he suggested loudly, giving his two eldest boys a pointed look.

Neither boy looked too happy with the proposition, but soon the DVDs were being spread out on the rug in front of the TV. Voting on such matters was clearly a common occurrence, and Rose watched in interest as the four children and John proceeded to vote for which DVD to watch.

"What about Rose?" Oscar asked suddenly, twisting where he was sat on the floor to look at his new au pair. "What do you want to vote for?"

Rose blinked. She hadn't been expecting to be included in the vote, not when the kids still didn't know her very well. But then the children were watching her expectantly, and John gave her a small nod.

"They won't put a film on till you vote," John told her with a small smile. "And believe me, they can spend hours voting if I let them, so it's probably best to just pick one."

Rose nodded, still a little unsure, and turned her attention to the handful of DVDs scattered on the floor. There was a mix, of animations, Disney and other films. There were a handful of other films too, a few Harry Potter films, Star Trek, and a DVD full of Pixar short films. Rose had seen a few of them, and wouldn't mind watching any of them, but she felt that she really didn't know the kids well enough to make a decision on what they should watch, and the fact they were all staring at her while she made the decision was making her uncomfortable.

"Um, I'm not really sure," Rose admitted after a minute or so. "I don't mind what we watch."

"But you have to choose!" Olivia piped up suddenly, brown eyes wide. "You have to; else the boys will pick something stupid!"

Rose stared at the little girl in surprise; Olivia had barely said two words to her all day. In fact, she'd only spoken when she'd asked Rose to open her bottle of juice.

"How about something like Harry Potter, then?" Alex suggested from where he was sat on the sofa.

"Only one of the early ones," John broke in quickly. "Else Felix will be having nightmares."

"But Dad-" Alex began in annoyance, but cut himself short at John's warning look.

With a sigh, Alex reached over and picked up half a dozen of the Harry Potter DVDs, returning them to the shelf beside the TV. Rose was beginning to grow a little uncomfortable about picking a film; after all, she didn't know what the kids enjoyed, and while they obviously owned all the DVDs, she wasn't certain how 12 year old Alex would feel about watching a Disney film. But by then, she realised, the children were back to trying to cast their own votes.

**~StormWolf10~**

Eventually, they did agree on watching a film, and it was to Rose's surprise that Alex was quite willing to watch Monsters Inc. Still, she supposed she didn't really have that much experience with teenage boys, and technically Alex wasn't even a teenager yet. Most of the film was watched in silence, with Olivia even cuddling into Rose's side halfway through the story. Rose was a little perplexed, but didn't push the girl away. Instead, she somewhat awkwardly wrapped her arm round the seven year old's shoulders as the girl leant into her even more.

They played a couple of board games after the film, but it wasn't long before Olivia and Felix were starting to flag, Felix settled on John's lap while Olivia made herself comfortable on Rose's lap. It was clear that the girl was very taken with Rose, even if she was still a little shy, and Rose figured it had a lot to do with being the only girl in the family.

It wasn't until almost eleven that they were sending the kids to bed. While that duty would normally fall to Rose in an average au pair job, it was clear that it was still something John liked doing, although Rose accompanied him upstairs. Alex and Oscar took themselves off to bed with just a brief goodnight to both John and Rose, but Olivia and Felix were clearly expecting to be tucked in.

"Go put your pyjamas on, then, Livvy," John sighed, stifling a yawn. "I'll put your brother to bed and be in to tuck you in."

Olivia yawned and nodded tiredly, before stumbling off to her room. Rose watched, still stood at the top of the stairs as John began to lead Felix to his room.

"You coming?" John asked over his shoulder as he realised Rose wasn't following.

She blinked, and then her feet were moving of their own accord, following John down the hall to his youngest child's room. John and Felix had already disappeared inside, and when Rose stepped inside, she found herself averting her eyes, instead deciding to focus on the pale green walls. It was daft, really, she decided; Felix was a four year old putting his pyjamas on, there was no reason for her to feel awkward. Especially since she was to be his au pair; if dinner earlier was anything to go by, Rose might regularly find herself stripping the boy of food-stained clothes. When she returned her gaze from the ceiling, Felix was already in a pair of Mickey Mouse adorned pyjamas and clambering into his bed. Rose watched in silence as John tucked the duvet around his son and sat on the bed to kiss the boy's forehead. John spoke so softly, then, that Rose hardly heard him from her position by the door.

"Night night, Felix. See you in the morning, yeah?"

The four year old was almost asleep then, managing a small nod as he yawned.

"Night night, Daddy," Felix murmured quietly, eyes already shut. "Night night, Rose."

Rose blinked. The boy's voice had been soft, and he was so tired, but she'd definitely heard her name. A glance at the small smile on John's face assured her she was right, and she shook herself to bring her back to the present.

"Night, Felix."

Rose watched then, as John stood and switched on the small star nightlight attached to the wall above the bed. Then, he silently padded from the room. Rose followed dutifully, and within moments, they were outside Olivia's room. When John opened the door, the girl was already in bed. He smirked at the sight of his daughter buried beneath her bright pink duvet, just her nose, eyes and the top of her head visible.

"Comfortable there?" he asked as he crossed the room and settled himself on the bed.

Olivia giggled and nodded, and Rose watched the exchange with a soft smile. The whole of Olivia's room was pink, Rose realised, with light pink walls and a dusky pink carpet. Even the curtains were pink. Rose had had a similar colour scheme, she recalled, in her room at her last foster home. But then she'd moved out at eighteen, moved in with Jimmy, and, well…

Watching John with his kids, Rose decided, was making her feel a little odd, actually. She was homesick, she realised, for the first time in years she was homesick. Which was quite ridiculous when she thought about it. She'd never belonged anywhere, had gone from numerous care homes and foster homes until she'd reached 18, where she'd effectively been left to her own devices and had decided that moving in with her then-boyfriend rock star Jimmy Stone would be a great move. How naïve she'd been…

"Rose?"

Rose looked up at the sound of her name to see that Olivia had finally disentangled herself from the bright duvet and was holding her arms out expectantly. On autopilot, Rose padded across the floor and hugged the little girl to her for a few moments.

"Night, Rose," the girl mumbled tiredly into Rose's shoulder.

For the second time in as many minutes, Rose suddenly found herself overwhelmed at how readily the children seemed to accept her as a now (hopefully) permanent fixture in their lives. For all that Olivia and Felix had been worried and shy earlier, they seemed more than happy for her to intrude on their bedtime rituals, and Rose was truly baffled at how accepting they'd been. Even in her own childhood, moving from various foster parents, sometimes on an almost-monthly basis, and it had always taken her at least a few days to settle in, even after years. Ironically, she'd settled in with Jimmy within twenty-four hours.

She and John were leaving the room then, after John had switched Olivia's nightlight on. He shut the door behind him, and turned to face Rose.

"Well," John announced softly, a small smile on his face. "I guess this is goodnight?"

"Yeah," Rose agreed, smiling softly. "Goodnight."

Rose turned to head over to the staircase leading up to her rooms then. She'd just reached the bottom step when John's voice caused her to still.

"Rose," he called, voice quiet so as not to wake the children.

Rose turned to look at him expectantly. John was still smiling tiredly.

"I told you the kids would warm to you," he completed, smile growing slightly.

Rose couldn't help but grin back as she nodded.

"Yeah," she agreed, voice quiet but happy. "Yeah, you did."

**~StormWolf10~**

Breakfast on Sunday morning was most definitely an eye-opener. By the time Rose had gotten up, showered and dressed, the four children and John were downstairs in the kitchen diner. The table was already set, fruit and breakfast waffles and scotch pancakes and toast and jam were all laid out on plates in the middle of the table, and the kids were already seated.

"You'd better sit down quick if you want any breakfast," John told Rose with a smirk, glancing over his shoulder as she entered the room. "D'you want tea, coffee, or juice?"

"Coffee, please," Rose responded as she crossed the room to take a seat at the dining table.

As John set about making Rose a coffee, and a tea for himself, Rose took the time to observe the organised chaos unfolding in front of her. The kids were quite happily helping themselves to food, Alex pouring juice into a cup for Felix while the little boy attempted to peel a banana. All the children were still in their pyjamas, hair a mess, talking over one another quite happily. Rose had noticed that all four children had brown hair and eyes the day before, but since then, Rose had discovered that they'd inherited their hair and eyes from not only John, but their mother. There were still photos of Romana around the house, Rose had found, and rightly so. She'd seen several of the photos, and Rose hadn't been able to help staring at one in the upstairs hall as she headed down to breakfast. It seemed that only little Felix had inherited his mother's slightly wavy hair, the ends of it flicking out around his ears, forehead, and the nape of his neck in small curls. Olivia's hair seemed slightly wavy that morning, too, but Rose couldn't tell whether it was just because it hadn't been brushed; it hadn't seemed that wavy yesterday. Both Oliver and Alex had their father's hair, it seemed, and looked like it would stubbornly stick up no matter how many times it was brushed. Alex's fringe even obscured part of his face.

"Here we go."

John's voice suddenly interrupted Rose's observations, as he placed a mug of coffee in front of her with a small smile. Rose returned the smile gratefully, hands curling around the mug. She watched as John sat down at the only remaining seat, between Felix and Oscar, and began filling his plate. He glanced at Rose's only empty plate, and frowned. Moments later, Oscar had grabbed the plate of waffles, and slipped out of his seat only to pad over to Rose and offer them to her.

"Alex will eat them all, otherwise," Oscar told her with a grin.

"Will not!" his older brother protested, head shooting up to glare across the table.

Rose laughed, and helped herself to a couple of waffles. Still grinning, Oscar then returned to his seat, setting the plate down. The bowl of fruit was passed around, as was the plate of scotch pancakes, and soon everyone had enough food. Although everyone was then tucking into their food, Rose was surprised to find that the children were still maintaining a conversation.

"Can we show Rose the TARDIS later, Dad?" Oscar asked excitedly.

"While I'm sorting dinner, yeah," John agreed as he reached for another banana. "But don't forget we're going out this afternoon."

Rose frowned at that in confusion.

"Dad likes us to go out for a walk every Sunday afternoon," Alex explained through a mouthful of pancake.

"Only because otherwise you four would spend all day inside," John responded calmly. "And don't talk with your mouth full, please."

Alex quickly swallowed, reaching for his glass of apple juice.

"But we wouldn't be inside all day, Daddy," Felix piped up, forehead furrowed in confusion. "We'd play in the TARDIS!"

"That still counts as inside, buddy," John told his son calmly as he took a sip of tea.

"But it's not!" Felix protested, frowning still. "The TARDIS is at the end of the garden!"

"The TARDIS?" Rose echoed, growing more confused the longer the conversation continued.

"The brick shed at the end of the garden," John explained with a small smile. "It's the kids' den, really. They call it the TARDIS."

"'S a spaceship," Olivia piped up happily.

"Yeah?" Rose asked, a smile growing on her face.

The Smith children, it seemed, had a very active imagination. Both Olivia and Felix nodded eagerly, while Oscar grinned and Alex tried to look impartial, but Rose could see that he was hiding a smile behind his mug of juice.

**~StormWolf10~**

When breakfast was over, the children were sent upstairs to get dressed while Rose and John handled the washing up.

"Is every breakfast like that?" Rose asked with a small smile as she carried the last of the plates over to the sink.

"Nah," John replied, flashing her a grin as he began to wash up. "Just on Sundays. During the week, and on Saturdays, they just get a choice of either toast and jam, or cereal. Sundays, though, we try to make breakfast a bit different."

Rose nodded in understanding, reaching for a towel to begin drying up.

"I'll be taking the kids out later, after Sunday lunch," John continued suddenly. "We'll have a roast at about 1, then I take them out for a walk. You can come if you want. We go up to the nearby woods, the kids can take their bikes… Gets them out in the fresh air for an hour or two."

Rose thought for a few moments.

"Yeah, ok," she agreed after a moment or two. "Get to see a bit more of what's around here."

John grinned, but anything he was about to say was suddenly cut off by the sound of the children running down the stairs, and Rose watched in bemusement as Oscar, Olivia and Felix all ran straight through the kitchen to the back door, wrenching it open and disappearing into the garden.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: In which Rose encounters the TARDIS, and John learns more about her.**

The TARDIS, as it turned out, was more of an outbuilding than a shed. Constructed of breezeblocks and painted a dark blue colour, the only feature was a painted wooden door that looked like it had seen better days.

"So this is where you guys hang out, then?" Rose asked Alex, pulling her coat slightly tighter around her in the stiff November wind.

Alex nodded, before shrugging.

"Started when me and Oscar were small, just before Livvy was born," the boy explained. "We wanted a tree house, but Dad said the tree wasn't stable enough for it, and this was already here, just needed the roof fixing. Before then we didn't really use it."

Alex then stepped forward, pushing open the wooden door and disappearing inside, not bothering to see if Rose was following. She frowned, still a little surprised that Alex had come down to the TARDIS in the first place; he had started senior school, was 12 years old. At 12, Rose had wanted to stay indoors and watch TV, or talk to her friends on the phone, not be playing in an outhouse. She stepped forward then, pushing the door open, unsure of what she'd find. And her jaw dropped open.

The outhouse was, as it appeared on the outside, a fairly large, rectangular building at the end of the garden, beside the old apple tree. At a guess, Rose would say it was a good 15 foot long, maybe a little longer, and at least 8 or 9 foot wide. The three walls not visible from where Rose had been stood outside had high windows set into them, letting light into the building. The floor was wide oak floorboards, and there were a few beanbags scattered around the place. Opposite the door was what looked like an old backseat of a car, and a large wooden structure was in the centre of the room, painted a beige colour. The walls were a plain white, but clearly it was a well-used area.

"That's the console," Oscar announced proudly, as he watched Rose stare at the wooden structure.

Rose blinked, and nodded wordlessly, instead staring at the contraption. The kids had seemingly stuck old rubbish to the 'console', to create control panels, buttons and levers; bottle tops and the handles of plastic milk bottles, an old telephone with the cord still attached, bits from a spirograph set and a bicycle pump.

It hadn't been anything Rose was expecting, not in a glorified shed in the back garden, but it was clear the kids loved spending time there, playing with each other and making up games. Yet again, it made Rose realise how different John's children were to herself, made her realise what she'd missed out on.

"Did you guys make this yourself?" she asked after a minute or so.

"Dad and Oscar and me did most of it," Alex explained as he plonked himself down on a beanbag. "Livvy helped with some of the painting, and finding stuff to stick on the console, and Felix mostly just tried to stick everything in his mouth. We built this a while ago."

"Mum was ill, with flu," Oscar agreed, brow furrowing as he recalled the event. "And Dad had to shut the shop for a while, to look after us. It was during half term, and it rained every day, so we built this instead."

"You said you built it a while ago," Rose said quietly. "How long? You said you'd been playing in here since Olivia was small."

"About a year and a half ago," Alex explained. "Maybe two years. Before then, we just pretended the console was in here."

"Come on!" Olivia announced suddenly, grabbing Rose's hand and dragging her over to the old car seat, forcing her onto it. "We gotta go to Barcelona!"

"The city?" Rose asked, deciding to play along.

Olivia sighed, rolling her eyes in a manner only a seven year old could manage.

"No, silly!" she laughed, grinning at Rose. "The planet!"

**~StormWolf10~**

They were interrupted an hour or two later, partway through the children's explanation of how to properly fly the TARDIS. John fetched them for dinner, which was a much more subdued affair than breakfast that morning, and then the kids were being bundled up in their coats, ready for the walk. Rose helped John get the children's bikes out of the garage. There was a brief argument between John and Alex about bike helmets, with Alex stating it made him look 'uncool', but they were soon off, the children leading the way on their bikes while Rose and John followed.

"D'you do this every Sunday, then?" Rose asked John as she watched Felix wobble along the pavement on his little green bike, complete with stabilisers.

"Well, I try to get them out the house, yeah," John nodded. "Don't always go up to the woods, though. Sometimes we go to the park, or for a walk along the beach if it's a bit warmer. But the woods seemed like a good idea today; it's cold, so the bike ride will warm the kids up, and there's nowhere for them to try and make us stop for ice cream, or to play in the park."

The kids were racing along on their bikes, then, Alex and Oscar apparently having some sort of race, while Olivia and Felix attempted to join in.

"Stop at the road, please," John called ahead, brow furrowing in concern.

Olivia- riding an unsurprisingly pink bike complete with little white basket on the front- and Felix, both wobbling along with their stabilisers, turned their heads to look back at their Dad, and began to slow a little, but Alex and Oscar either didn't hear, or ignored him. Rose watched in concern as Alex continued cycling, getting closer to the road, Oscar following not far behind.

"Alex!" John called forward again, growing annoyed. "Stop at the road!"

And then, Alex suddenly braked, his blue bike skidding to a halt very quickly, and Rose winced as the boy almost went over the handlebars. Oscar swerved to avoid going into the back of his brother, and promptly skidded across pavement, tumbling off his own bright orange bike.

John jogged over to Oscar, who was already getting to his feet and dusting himself down.

"You alright?" John asked, quickly checking Oscar over for injuries.

Oscar just grinned and nodded, moving to pick his bike up. Almost immediately, John was straightening and rounding on Alex.

"I told you to stop at the road," John reminded his son, voice deceptively calm. "If I ask you to stop, I expect you to do so."

Alex sighed.

"But Dad, I'm 12!" Alex began in annoyance.

"Yeah, and your younger siblings are following you!" John retorted quickly, pointing behind him at Olivia and Felix, who'd finally cycled up to them. "Oscar may have stopped, but if Livvy and Felix are too busy concentrating on following you, they might just cycle straight out in front of a car, and then what, hmm?"

"But they might not," Alex mumbled, sniffing as he turned his attention back to the road, looking both ways.

John quickly moved to stop the bike from moving, gripping the back wheel.

"Alex John Smith, you need to apologise to your brother!"

"I didn't do anything-" Alex began to protest again, wide-eyed and growing annoyed.

"If you'd stopped when I'd asked you to, Oscar wouldn't have had to swerve to avoid going into the back of you!"

Alex muttered something under his breath, but at another glare from John, he turned his attention to Oscar.

"Sorry Oscar," he muttered.

Oscar just smiled, and shrugged.

"It's fine," Oscar replied. "Didn't even get hurt."

**~StormWolf10~**

When they reached the woods, the children raced off down the dirt and stone track, winding their way through the trees as John and Rose wandered after them.

"'S a nice place," Rose said after a good twenty minutes or so.

John looked over to see Rose glancing around them at the trees, most of which were now bare.

"Suppose so," John agreed, sniffing. "Grew up here, kind of take it for granted, I guess." He paused, looked over at Rose. "Ever been anywhere like this before?"

Rose shook her head.

"Nah, grew up in London, moved to various places in the south east of the city. Didn't go on holiday much, apart from a weekend in Essex, if that counts."

"Visiting family?" John asked, hands deep in the pockets of his coat.

Rose shook her head.

"Not really," she replied, burying the lower part of her face in her scarf. "It was the sister of my foster Mum. Not that any of them stayed in touch."

It took Rose a few moments to realise that John had stopped walking, then. Frowning, Rose turned to face him.

"If we don't get a move on, we'll lose sight of the kids," she told him nervously.

"They're fine, they always follow the same track," John responded, eyes never leaving hers, his feet never moving. "They'll stop and wait for us if need be."

There was an uncomfortable silence, then, that lasted for a good few moments.

"Why didn't you tell me you were fostered?" John suddenly asked quietly, frowning.

Rose sniffed, and shrugged, fiddling with her scarf.

"Didn't think it was that important," she responded softly, before meeting his gaze briefly. At finding him still staring at her, her gaze skittered away, coming to rest on a pile of red and golden and brown leaves. "I was in and out of care since I could remember. Foster families, care homes… None of them lasted."

"And then what?" John asked quietly, and his voice was so low, but so near, and Rose was suddenly aware that he'd moved to stand in front of her.

"Then," Rose told him, looking up to meet John's gaze, "I turned 18."

She turned then, walking away, clearly thinking the topic was done with. John fell into step beside her, still frowning, still looking worried.

"And what? They just left you? What… What about finding you a place to live, making sure you got a good job, getting you on the property ladder?" John asked incredulously, completely baffled.

"You don't really know much about kids in care, do you?" Rose asked, a small wry smile on her lips.

John merely frowned, still confused, and Rose took that as a resounding no.

"You get to 18, and that's that," Rose sighed suddenly, shaking her head. "That's how it works. If you're in a care home, you get moved out. If you're in a foster family, the contract is up and you have to leave. Regardless of whether the foster family want you to stay, regardless of whether you have a job and an income, that's it. They wash their hands of you."

"What happened to you?" John asked quietly.

"I was in a care home at the time," Rose shrugged. "They needed my room. I'd only been there a few months, because my foster parents had decided they wanted to relocate to Australia. Nice enough couple, wanted to take me with them…"

"Why didn't they adopt?" John interrupted, sounding annoyed.

"Too much paperwork, or something," Rose responded, brow furrowing. "Never really understood it. There was always some excuse as to why I couldn't be adopted…" She paused, shook herself, continued. "But then I was 18, and my boyfriend had a flat- well, a bedsit- and he was a few years older than me, early twenties. He said I could move in with him. Stayed there for five years, till I finally came here."

"How did you end up in care?" John asked suddenly, quietly. "What happened to your parents?"

Rose sniffed, looked away, and then frowned, staring up the path they were walking along.

"Where are the kids?" she asked suddenly, completely ignoring John's questions. She then sighed. "Some au pair I'm turning out to be, can't even keep an eye on them…"

And then, she was off up the path, leaving John to follow. He sighed. Maybe next time, he decided silently, maybe next time she'd open up a bit more.

**~StormWolf10~**

They spent a good hour or so wandering the woods, having finally caught up to the kids. But then, Felix started getting upset that he was cold, and Olivia was complaining that her legs ached from all the peddling, so they decided to head home. At some point on the journey home, Felix got bored of cycling, and abandoned his bike in the middle of the path, holding his arms out expectantly at John to be carried. John sighed and grumbled over the matter for several seconds before relenting and giving the boy a piggy-back ride home, carrying the bike.

As they finally reached the house, John tossed Rose the front door key and settled Felix on the ground while he went to unlock the garage to stash the bikes away. That done, he entered the house to find the small entrance crowded with the kids and Rose all trying to take their shoes off in the somewhat cramped space. The children giggled as Rose almost fell over, and John quickly moved to grab her.

"You alright?" he asked, trying to hide his own laughter.

"Yeah," Rose nodded, chuckling. "Think I just lost my footing there."

She finished tugging her trainers off then, the children having already abandoned their Converses and disappeared into the main entrance hall.

"You need to get Converses," Olivia stated calmly, grinning at Rose.

"Yeah?" Rose asked, dropping her trainers onto the floor as she straightened up. "And why's that?"

"So you match!" Felix announced, giggling.

Rose blinked, and looked back at the line of shoes as John finally tugged his own Converses off. Indeed, Rose's trainers were the only odd ones out.

"They have a point," John laughed as he slipped past Rose.

**~StormWolf10~**

That evening, if Rose realised that John was watching her closely, she didn't let on. They had a tea of cheese on toast, and then Olivia and Felix both retrieved some toys from the toy boxes under the window, and entertained themselves playing while the others watched TV. It wasn't long before the two youngest children were begging Rose to join them, tugging her off the sofa to join them on the floor. Rose complied, still a little surprised considering just twenty-four hours before, the children had been extremely shy of her.

John was still baffled by his talk with Rose earlier in the woods, and he was desperate to ask her more questions, about how she'd ended up in care in the first place. But he couldn't, not while the children were around, and not when Rose had very quickly changed the subject. He'd need to wait a while, he decided, until she'd settled in a bit more. He wondered if he was being selfish, thinking that he deserved to know Rose's past. It had very little to do with her being his children's au pair, and she was already proving herself capable of the job despite lacking a maternal figure in her own life.

He watched, as Rose played with Livvy and her dolls, while she helped Felix set up a race track for his toy cars. She seemed to be a natural, playing with the kids, and John wondered whether it was because of her going from care home to care home that she'd developed the maternal instinct she was clearly displaying.

He wanted to know more, of course he did, but he wouldn't- couldn't- push her. Rose trusted him, even despite her past with an abusive boyfriend, and John couldn't betray that trust by forcing her to impart information she felt uncomfortable saying out loud. She was still reluctant, that John could see clearly, still reluctant to truly settle, truly relax. He just hoped nothing too bad had happened to her…

**~StormWolf10~**

Much the same as the night before, Olivia and Felix were put to bed by both John and Rose. Felix went down without much fuss, but Olivia was a little more difficult.

"You've got school in the morning," John reminded his daughter sternly. "You know the rules; bed at 7:30 on a school night."

Beneath the covers, Olivia pouted, before yawning.

"See?" John told her softly, a small smile on his lips. "You're tired. Now go to sleep."

"Rose!" Olivia whined, turning to look at her au pair for support.

Rose crossed the room and knelt beside the bed.

"Like your Dad said," Rose repeated John's words calmly, "you've got school in the morning."

Olivia yawned again, eyes shutting momentarily.

"But we didn't get to Barcelona," the girl grumbled quietly.

John blinked.

"Sorry?" he asked his daughter.

"We were gonna take Rose to Barcelona," the girl repeated, yawning for the third time. "In the TARDIS."

"Thought you said it could travel in time, eh?" Rose reminded the girl with a small grin. "We can go tomorrow, if you do your homework as soon as you get in from school."

Olivia nodded sleepily, and moments later, she was asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: In which Rose finds more out about the kids, and a problem arises…**

The school run on Monday morning brought Rose back to her senses. Things had been different, over the weekend; she'd allowed herself to settle a little, to begin to accept her new life, but Monday morning only served to remind Rose of her fears. While she'd been in John's house, with him and the children, she'd felt- dare she say it?- safe. She was still worried about Jimmy, of course, and she was beginning to wonder if she'd ever know what it was like to be unafraid again, but being with the Smiths was different. Made her feel lighter, more like herself than she had in years. Even despite hers and John's awkward conversation in the woods, she'd felt better than she had in a long time. It was strange, she decided, having a man talk to you and not use words like 'whore' or 'bitch' every time they addressed you. Because to Jimmy, she'd only ever been good for one thing. Well, two things. But she didn't like to dwell on either of them.

But walking Oscar, Olivia and Felix to school Monday morning, and standing with them in the playground while other parents and guardians whispered and muttered and pointed at her, Rose suddenly remembered her vow she'd made to herself upon moving to Gallifrey. _Don't get involved with anyone. Stay in the shadows._

Well, she decided, glancing round the playground of Heartshaven Primary, that hadn't really worked out. She had Felix's lunch bag in one hand and Olivia's school bag in the other, while the kids ran around her, laughing and joking and grinning. People would want to know who she was, Rose knew that, and she knew she'd finally have to begin answering questions. She'd known it was coming, ever since she'd decided to take John up on his job offer, but actually having to do it was a different matter entirely.

Soon, the bell was ringing, and Oscar hugged her goodbye before running off to line up with the rest of year 6, while Rose walked Olivia and Felix over to their lines. She left Olivia with the rest of the year 3s while she led Felix over to the doors of his reception class.

"Hello, there," the teacher in the doorway announced, smiling warmly as Rose approached. "You must be Rose."

Rose blinked, and nodded despite her confusion. Felix had already let go of Rose's hand, tugging his lunch bag from her and giving her a quick hug before disappearing inside the building.

"John phoned ahead," the teacher explained as Felix disappeared. "To let the teachers know that you'd be dropping off and picking the kids up." The woman paused. "I'm Sarah Jane Smith, by the way. Felix's teacher. I'm an old friend of John's family, too."

"Rose Tyler," Rose responded, shaking Sarah Jane's proffered hand. She watched the woman for a few moments, before Sarah Jane moved.

"I'd better be getting inside, now," Sarah Jane told her apologetically, gesturing to the classroom behind her. "We've got arts and crafts set up, and the last thing we need is paint all over the children."

**~StormWolf10~**

Rose admittedly felt a little odd, being left to her own devices in John's home. Although he'd said not to worry about cleaning it up, she couldn't really help it. After all, it had been that, or sit there and do nothing. So, she started in the sitting room, and hovered and dusted through the whole of the ground floor. She was still a little baffled by the fact the Smiths had a 'study room', as they put it, which was simply a second reception room, to the left of the front door on the opposite side from the sitting room. That done, Rose hoovered up the stairs, and set to work in the children's bedrooms. They only needed hoovering, really, and even Alex's room hadn't been that bad. It was mostly just toys and video games and school work to be put away, and with that done, Rose turned her attention to the bathroom.

It was a large house, by Rose's standards, even with numerous foster families and care homes under her belt. John had explained the night before that he'd inherited it, from his grandparents. He had cousins, of course, quite a lot of them, but they'd all had their own homes and families, and many of them had moved away and lost contact.

Rose paused to look at the clock then, shaking away the memories of hers and John's conversation the night before. She had to be at the school soon, to pick up the kids. Frowning to herself, Rose headed back downstairs to retrieve her trainers. How John had coped with the school run, keeping the house tidy, and running the bookshop, Rose wasn't sure. She supposed he'd just gotten used to it, settled into a routine. And of course, Donna had been helping out as well.

The walk to the school was a little unsettling, now that she didn't have the kids to distract her from the curious looks people were throwing her way.

"Oh, hi there, sweetheart!"

Rose blinked, and looked up to see Wilfred Mott hurrying towards her, grinning. He had a red woolly hat pulled down over his ears, and was looking a little cold in the November chill.

"Hi, Wilf," Rose replied as the man reached her. "Thanks for the bed and stuff."

They hadn't met or spoken since Rose's first day in Gallifrey, but Rose had heard a lot about him from John and Donna, and she suspected that Wilf had heard things about her the same way.

"Oh, no matter, no matter," Wilf waved off the thanks with a small smile. "I'm glad that furniture's alright for you," Wilf told her with a smile. "It would only have gone to waste otherwise." He paused, then suddenly looked serious. "Now, how are you settling in at the Smiths? Those children aren't running you ragged?"

"Only moved in on Saturday," Rose reminded Wilf with a grin. "They seem alright so far. Breakfast this morning was a bit of a mess, but we'll get used to it." She paused. "They've gotten used to me quite quickly, actually."

Wilf chuckled.

"Oh, believe me, it won't be long until they're driving you up the wall!" Wilf laughed. "Tell me; has Alex tried doing any experiments, yet?"

Rose paled.

"Experiments?" she echoed in concern.

Wilf nodded sagely.

"He's a good kid, but his experiments sometimes go a little wrong," Wilf continued, surprisingly calm. "Same as how his Dad was at that age. One time, when my Donna was babysitting them a few years back, Alex dismantled the toaster and burnt the kitchen curtains."

Rose gaped, unsure how she'd not been told this already. Alex seemed like a nice enough kid, a normal 12 year old boy as far as Rose was concerned. But now, she wasn't so sure…

"He might be growing out of it, though," Wilf continued, oblivious to Rose's sudden panic. "Hasn't done it for a few months." There were a few moments of silence, and then Wilf was speaking again. "Now, Oscar on the other hand, Oscar won't cause any trouble in that respect, but John has had to climb up the tree to rescue him a few times. Has a fascination with stars, that one. Almost caught hypothermia back last year, because he sneaked out and slept in the tree all night."

The more Wilf spoke, the more uncertain Rose was getting. John hadn't mentioned any of that to her, when she'd agreed to take the job, or when he'd told her about the kids. She wanted to question Wilf, ask about Olivia and Felix, but she knew that if she didn't get a move on, she'd be late.

"I've really gotta go pick up the kids now," Rose admitted apologetically. "But it's been nice seeing you again, Wilf."

Wilf nodded, smiling.

"Of course, sweetheart," he told her, nodding in understanding. "You go collect those kids. I'll see you again soon, yeah?"

Rose nodded, waving goodbye to Wilf as she continued walking towards the school.

**~StormWolf10~**

"Wilf was telling me you like to do experiments," Rose stated to Alex over the rim of her mug.

They were in the study room, with the kids doing their homework. Rose had been given strict orders from John to make the children do their homework as soon as they got in, else they wouldn't do it at all.

Alex looked up from the maths homework he was doing, and blinked before shrugging.

"Suppose so," he admitted. "I find it interesting. Taking things apart and stuff, seeing how it all fits together. Dad's a Doctor of science, and he was doing his degree when I was little, in between running the bookshop, and I guess I just remember it a lot from then."

"Mum always hated it," Oscar piped up with a grin, oblivious to the sudden dark look Alex shot him. "Especially when he set fire to his own hair!"

"You set fire to your own hair?" Rose asked incredulously, grinning.

Alex shrugged, refusing to meet their gazes.

"And when he broke the toaster!" Olivia chipped in, giggling. "Mummy was mad for days!"

Rose watched as the children continued telling her about Alex's experiments. While the majority of them, it seemed, had gone wrong, there apparently had been a few successful ones; though it appeared John had helped with them. It was the first time the children had mentioned their Mum since Rose had moved in on Saturday. John had mentioned Romana before, when they'd still been meeting at the bookshop, and Rose was fully aware of how the children had lost their Mum. As the stories continued, Rose couldn't stop her smile from growing, and soon she was grinning. Her grin faded, however, as she saw that Alex was glaring at his maths homework, both hands clenched into fists.

"Alex?" Rose asked quietly, moving to rest a hand on the boy's back.

The boy flinched, throwing Rose's hand off before he was suddenly on his feet, hurrying from the room. Oscar, Olivia and Felix all watched him go, Oscar even getting to his feet worriedly.

"You three stay here," Rose told them pointedly as she stood. "I'll go check on your brother. Just… Just get on with your homework."

**~StormWolf10~**

"Any luck?" Rose asked as she hovered at the bottom of the stairs, brow furrowing.

John shook his head as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

"He took the dinner, but he's refusing to talk," John replied tiredly. "You say he's been in his room since after he'd finished his homework?"

"Not even sure he finished it," Rose admitted, biting her lip. "I asked him about his experiments, and then Livvy and Oscar started telling stories about some of Alex's past experiments…" Rose paused then, taking a deep breath. "They mentioned their Mum, about how she used to get annoyed about Alex's experiments. That was when he walked out."

Rose watched John carefully then, as a muscle twitched in his clenched jaw. She swallowed. She'd mucked up, she knew that. Shouldn't have mentioned the experiments, but she'd been intrigued… And now, because she couldn't keep her mouth shut, a 12 year old boy was in his room in tears.

Rose looked away then, biting her lip and willing the tears welling in her eyes not to fall. John would surely hate her now, and she'd lose the job. She clearly wasn't cut out to be an au pair. Wasn't cut out for anything. Jimmy had been right; she was worthless. Only good enough to be a bit of fluff on Jimmy Stone's arm.

"Rose?"

Rose blinked, and her head shot round to look at John. He was frowning, but he wasn't angry, Rose realised. He was concerned. It was only then that she realised she'd really been crying.

"Rose," John began again, stepping forward and putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "it's not your fault. Alex is still struggling, he doesn't want to talk about it, but he is. The others… Oscar, and Livvy, and Felix, they're… They're settling, they're- as much as I hate to say it- getting used to not having their Mum around. But Alex…"

"Is there anyone he could talk to at school?" Rose asked, wiping quickly at her eyes.

"I don't know," John sighed. "He's got Jack Harkness, his tutor. He's a family friend, see. But… I don't think Alex wants to talk to him. Or me. Or Donna. He even refused to see Harriet Jones, the counsellor at the community health centre."

"What about me?" Rose asked suddenly.

John frowned in confusion.

"Maybe he'd rather talk to someone who didn't know his Mum? Someone impartial," Rose suggested.

John thought for a few moments.

"I think we should give him some space tonight," John responded eventually. "And maybe keep him off school tomorrow, if you're alright with that. That way you can chat without the little ones around."

Rose nodded, and was turning to head back to the kitchen diner, where the other four children were eating, but was stopped by John's voice.

"Oh, and school phoned the shop earlier," John continued suddenly.

"Anything wrong?" Rose asked worriedly, pausing to turn back to John.

John shook his head.

"Nah, they just wanted to see about updating the kids' contact details, to include you as a contact. I said I'd get back to them with your mobile number."

Rose froze then, wide-eyed. Her phone was jammed in the back of a drawer, upstairs in her room. She hadn't switched it on for weeks, couldn't switch it on. Not without seeing the texts from Jimmy and his friends.

"Rose?" John prompted, watching her in concern.

Rose snapped out of her fear-induced stupor then, swallowing hard.

"I… I don't have one," she whispered, brown eyes still wide.

John's brow furrowed slightly, but he quickly forced a small smile.

"Not to worry," he responded, shaking his head. "We'll get you one."

"Yeah," Rose agreed quietly. "Yeah."

**~StormWolf10~**

The next day, Alex stayed off school. He was a little better than he'd been the day before, but was still worryingly quiet at breakfast. John had had a chat with the others the evening before, explaining to them why their older brother had gotten upset, about the continued mention of their Mum, and the three children had promptly gone to apologise. Alex had accepted the apologies, but had remained in his room for the rest of the night.

"So," Rose announced taking a seat on the sofa and looking at Alex. "We gonna have a chat, then?"

Alex shrugged, fiddling with the zip on his hoodie. The others were at school, leaving Rose with Alex.

"About what?" the boy asked quietly, giving Rose a suspicious look.

"Anything you want," Rose responded calmly. "School, football, your friends… Your Mum."

Alex's head shot up then.

"Dad put you up to this, didn't he?" Alex asked bitterly. "I don't want to talk about it."

"You're lucky, you know," Rose stated calmly, ignoring Alex's question. "You're lucky that people actually ask how you feel about losing your Mum."

Alex snorted then in disbelief.

"Like you'd know," he muttered. "Bet you spent last night on the phone to your Mum, going on about how the kid you're looking after spent all night crying in his room."

"No, actually," Rose responded, voice growing hard for a moment. "I didn't. Both my parents are dead."

Alex's head shot up then, eyes wide.

"Wha-?" he began in confusion.

"My Dad died in a hit and run incident when I was six months old," Rose stated, voice suddenly soft. "My Mum committed suicide five months later. Overdosed. Our neighbour phoned an ambulance, but it was too late."

"But… Where did you go?" Alex asked, moving forward to sit on the edge of the sofa, brow furrowed.

Rose was immediately reminded of her talk with John in the woods on Sunday, and she blinked, pushing the memories away.

"Went to a foster family for a few months, then another one, then a care home. Moved back and forth between care homes and foster homes till I was 18," Rose explained quietly, before raising her voice. "That's why you're lucky, Alex. You might not think it, you might get sick of your Dad, and Donna, and your teachers at school all asking how you feel every day, and whether you want to talk about it, but you're lucky. Because no one ever bothered asking if I missed my Mum." Rose paused then, frowning slightly before meeting Alex's gaze. "No one asked because I don't remember her. According to them, that means I can't miss her, because I was too little to recall what she looked like, what perfume she wore, what her voice sounded like…"

There was silence then, Alex staring at his clasped hands.

"I… I miss her," Alex piped up quietly, several minutes later. "I miss her, every day, and there's Dad and Oscar and Livvy and Felix, all going about their day to day business, going to school and work, and playing stupid games in the outhouse. And… And sometimes it feels like I'm the only one that still cares about her."

"Alex," Rose sighed, getting to her feet and padding across the floor to sit beside the boy, "that's not true. It's a big adjustment, for all of you, but none of you are alone." She paused for a moment, debating whether to continue. She did. "Your Dad was worrying yesterday evening, when you wouldn't come out of your room. He wanted to talk to you about it, but you'd refused the conversation so many times since… Well, I offered to, instead. It's not because your Dad didn't want to talk to you about it, or because he doesn't care about what happened to your Mum, because he does. But… He thought you didn't want to talk to _him_."

Alex blinked, tear tracks staining his cheeks.

"That's not true," Alex mumbled, brow furrowing.

"I know it's not," Rose assured him quietly. "But your Dad doesn't. You didn't want to talk, and your Dad took that to mean that you didn't want to discuss it with him."

Alex's brow furrowed, and he stared at the floor for a few moments. Then, he raised his head.

"I think I'd like to see Harriet."

**~StormWolf10~**

John returned home early that day, just as Rose was heading out to collect the others from school.

"Donna's holding down the fort at the shop," he explained quietly as he and Rose stood in the hallway. "How's Alex?"

"Still a bit upset," Rose admitted softly. "But we had a chat, earlier." She paused then, biting her lip. "He still misses his Mum, which is completely understandable. Alex said he'd like to speak to Harriet Jones, though."

Rose watched as John swallowed and nodded.

"Right," he stated slowly, still nodding and ignoring the tears welling in his eyes. "Right, I'll give her a call, yeah. I'll have a chat with Alex, while you go get the others, and then I'll give Harriet a call."

John was still nodding, Rose noted, as he edged his way round her and disappeared into the sitting room. It would have been amusing had it not been because he was very busily trying to distract himself from the fact that his eldest son was still struggling with the loss of his Mother.

Rose fetched her coat, then, and headed out to collect the others from school. Maybe she'd walk them home the long way, she thought. Just to give Alex and John some more time.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: In which Christmas is had, and a perplexed Rose finds herself in a house-full of townsfolk...**

They settled into a routine rather quickly, Rose found, and by the following week, breakfast and the school run weren't anywhere near as intimidating. Alex was scheduled to see Harriet on Mondays after school, and he seemed lighter for it. Felix regularly came running out of school with a grin on his face, waving whatever drawing he'd done that day at Rose, while Olivia clung to Rose all the way to and from school, permitting her to call her 'Livvy' just days after the first school run. Oscar would chatter away about all sorts, laughing and joking along with the others, but Rose knew she'd have to try and make some time to chat with the boy on his own; she'd talked with Alex, and she'd play with Olivia and Felix after their homework, but she couldn't help feeling she was leaving Oscar out, and she needed to get to know all the children.

She was getting used to living with the Smiths, though, with their study room and their labelled coat hooks and their time and space ship in their outhouse. In fact, Rose was beginning to quite enjoy it. She tidied the house during the day, even despite John's protests, packing away toys that Olivia and Felix had left out, retrieving odd socks from Alex's room, hanging up Oscar's hoodies. She collected the kids from school, and a few times they'd met Alex walking home, and he'd cycle along on the pavement beside them.

By the time November had melted into December, Rose was feeling more involved with the Smiths than ever. Admittedly, she'd only been with them three weeks, having come to them mid-November, but all the kids had taken to her within a few days.

"We putting the Christmas tree up, then?" John called into the sitting room on Saturday morning.

They were a week into December, and almost as soon as Christmas was mentioned the kids' heads shot up, toys and colouring and TV and mobiles forgotten.

"Can we?" Oscar asked eagerly, even as Felix and Olivia scrambled to their feet, grinning.

"Well, yeah," John replied, brow furrowing even as he grinned. "Unless you four don't want Santa to come this year?"

Almost immediately, both Olivia and Felix looked terrified at the prospect of no Santa, while Alex just snorted and Oscar looked mildly worried about the idea of not having Christmas.

"Come on, then," John continued suddenly, still leaning against the doorframe. "If you want this Christmas tree up, you'll have to come and help me get the stuff out."

Moments later, the four children were scrambling for the door, leaving an amused Rose to follow.

**~StormWolf10~**

The whole task of getting the Christmas tree out of the small portion of the loft Rose didn't occupy, and then getting the tree and all the decorations down two flights of stairs, was a complete walk in the park compared to the actual putting together of the tree. The children bickered over whether to start assembling the tree from the bottom up, or the top down, and then argued over whether to fluff out the branches as they went, or wait until after the whole thing was put together. Rose watched the exchange over the rim of what had become 'her' coffee mug- a bright red affair with white polka dots on it, which Olivia had picked out for her at the supermarket- while John watched in amusement, munching on a banana. Both were sat on the sofa, watching as the kids unpacked the Christmas tree in the somewhat unused half of the room past the sofas.

"They do this every year," he whispered to Rose conspiratorially, grinning. "They'll start from the bottom, and assemble it going up, they always do."

Rose raised an eyebrow, and turned her attention back to the four children. They'd separated the branches according to the colour coordinated stickers on the central spine of the tree, and even as Rose watched, Alex huffed and began assembling the tree from the bottom up. Moments later, all the children were putting the tree together, although Olivia and Felix were struggling with pushing the branches into the slots.

"Told ya," John whispered to Rose suddenly, a smug grin on his face.

"Stop showing off," she responded, in a failed attempt at sounding stern. "You only knew that because they're your kids."

John cocked his head to one side, and shrugged.

"I was still right," he muttered.

Rose just shook her head, smiling. She and John sat in silence as the children assembled the tree, and soon it was time to begin decorating it.

"I wanna do the star!" Olivia shouted suddenly, virtually diving into a box to grab at the gold metal star.

"But I thought I got to do it!" Oscar protested, brow furrowing.

"I want it!" Felix broke in, glaring as he attempted to reach the star his sister was holding just out of reach.

"Who did it last year?" John asked, finishing off his cup of tea.

"Livvy did," the three boys chorused quickly, even despite the protests of the only girl.

"Did you do the star last year, Livvy?" John asked, turning his attention to the crest-fallen little girl.

"Well…" the girl began slowly, not meeting her father's gaze.

Rose had to hide her grin behind her mug then, the girl sounded so much like her Dad.

"Olivia," John prompted.

"Mummy said-" Olivia began again.

"Olivia Chloe, did you put the star on the tree last year or not?" John sighed, growing impatient.

Pouting, and looking ready to cry, Olivia solemnly nodded, not looking at all happy about it.

"That means it's Felix's turn, doesn't it?" John reminded the girl calmly. "If you got to do it last year, that means it's Felix's turn."

"But he can't even reach!" Oscar protested suddenly.

"Neither can Livvy, or you," Alex pointed out logically. "You have to stand on a chair. Even I struggle to reach it."

By now, a pouting Olivia had relinquished the star to a now-beaming Felix, who immediately ran to John to show him the star.

"Have you four finished decorating the tree?" John asked as he lifted Felix onto his lap. "'Cause we'll put the star on last, so if you haven't finished, you need to get on with it."

His eyes went to the decoration-laden Christmas tree then, all the tinsel and baubles and lights weighing the tree down and looking like a festive explosion.

"We've finished," Oscar decided after a moment, as Alex and Olivia nodded their agreement.

John nodded then, getting to his feet and swinging Felix up to sit on his shoulders.

"Come on then," John told Felix as he made his way over to the tree. "Let's get this star on the tree."

**~StormWolf10~**

"So Olivia's middle name is Chloe, then?"

John blinked, looking over at Rose in slight confusion.

"Well," Rose continued at John's blank look, "that's what you called her earlier, anyway. Olivia Chloe."

John's eyes widened then as he realised.

"Yeah," he nodded, finally cottoning on to the conversation. "Yeah, it is. But I only use their middle names if I'm telling them off, usually."

"So Olivia's Olivia Chloe," Rose responded, brow furrowing. "And Alex's is John, right?"

She vaguely remembered John calling his eldest boy that when they'd taken them down to the forest her first Sunday there, and Oscar had fallen off his bike. Again, John nodded.

"Yep," he agreed, "Alex is Alex John. And Oscar's middle name is Theodore, and Felix's middle name is Keegan."

"How come, if Alex has your name as a middle name, Olivia doesn't have your wife's name?" Rose asked suddenly, before she could stop herself.

John just chuckled.

"Romana hated her name," John explained with a small grin. "She was more than happy to give Alex my name as a middle name, and I think she was a bit relieved when it turned out Oscar was a boy, because it meant she didn't have to give him her name. But when Livvy came along… She didn't want her middle name to be Romana, so we chose Chloe instead."

There was an awkward silence then, the only noise coming from the TV. The kids were all in bed, but Rose and John had stayed up talking. It was the only chance they got, really, with Rose looking after the kids, and John working in the shop six days a week (although he was negotiating with Donna to take it in turns to do Saturday shifts once a fortnight). Besides, they were still learning each other, really.

"I take it your new phone's alright?" John asked suddenly, nodding towards the small mobile resting on Rose's knee. "Sorry it's not much, but figured a pay as you go phone would be better, seeing as I don't know how much you'll wanna use it."

Rose glanced down at the purple phone on her knee, before raising her head to John and smiling slightly.

"It's fine," she assured him, taking a sip of tea. "I don't use it much, anyway. Only have three numbers on it; yours, Donna's, and Alex's."

John blinked then, before shaking his head.

"Still find it strange how a woman of your age could live in London without a mobile," he told her, a small disbelieving smile on his face.

Rose bit her lip then, averting her gaze. In truth, the mobile she'd brought with her from London, the mobile that Jimmy knew how to contact, had actually been smashed up a few days ago. She'd found a hammer in the cupboard by the kitchen, one obviously used by John for DIY, and she'd retrieved her phone from its hiding place in her room, and smashed it up in the garden. Then, for good measure, she'd hidden it in a bush.

"Well," Rose shrugged, meeting John's gaze again; "my boyfriend didn't exactly let me go far on my own."

It was the truth, she decided, she was telling the truth. Just… Omitting a few facts. John blinked again, before nodding slowly.

"Right," he said slowly, blinking again before suddenly jumping to his feet and retrieving several sheets of paper from a box in the corner of the room. "You wanted ideas for the kids' Christmas presents, yes? Here are their Christmas lists."

Then, he thrust the papers at Rose, and disappeared from the room.

**~StormWolf10~**

Christmas approached rapidly, in a flurry of school runs and homework, with the occasional walk to the woods, bundled in winter coats and scarves and hats. Rose had managed to find something on each of the kids' lists that was within her budget, as well as pick up a little something for John. She was prepared for the havoc on Christmas day; the presents were wrapped and labelled, and hidden under her bed.

What Rose wasn't prepared for, however, was the Smiths' Christmas traditions. On Christmas Eve, when she'd much rather be on the sofa with a mug of hot chocolate, Rose found herself bundled out of the house to head over to Donna's. Technically, Alex informed her sagely, the house belonged to Donna's mother, Sylvia. Rose nodded, perplexed about what was happening, and they were soon outside a large house not far from John's. Donna greeted them at the door with a grin, Wilf not far behind with a pair of felt reindeer antlers on his head.

"You do this every year, then?" Rose asked quietly as she dutifully hung her coat and scarf up and toed off her trainers.

John nodded.

"Yeah," he nodded, "there's a group of us. Started when we were kids, mine and Donna's parents would get together for a party on Christmas Eve, exchange presents and stuff. Then, when Mickey moved down to live with his Gran, we invited him along. He'd only been in the town a few weeks, and had no friends at school, so Donna and I invited him and his Gran. She died, though, Rita Anne. About a year or so back, now. But Mickey still comes. Jack comes too, since I met him at college."

"Quite a crowd, then," Rose stated with a nervous smile.

John nodded again, before his smile faltered.

"I forgot to warn you, didn't I?" he asked her quietly, eyes widening in realisation.

Rose nodded then, smile forced.

"Yeah," she nodded. "You did."

He sighed then, eyes falling shut.

"I thought the kids had mentioned it," he admitted apologetically. "I just assumed you… I should have told you."

Rose shrugged and wrinkled her nose.

"I'm used to fitting in with people I don't know," she responded, though she still sounded a little uncertain. "Grew up in several different foster families, remember? Won't be the first time I've been to a party where everyone knows everyone but me."

John looked like he wanted to say something, then, but Felix appeared, tugging insistently at Rose's arm. She followed the little boy with a smile, letting him tug her through the house. John was left in the hallway, sock-clad feet wriggling restlessly as he stared after her.

**~StormWolf10~**

"So," Jack Harkness announced with a grin as he leant against the wall, "what brought you to Gallifrey?"

Rose blinked, before forcing a smile.

"Looked like a nice place," she stated, hoping she was the only one who could hear the tremor in her voice. "And I wanted to get away from London, so I thought why not?"

"But you didn't get a job before you came here?" Jack asked, eyebrow arched. "Or a flat."

Rose shifted uncomfortably then, biting her lip as she looked around the room. But she'd already lost sight of her employer, and even the kids had disappeared, so no hope of a distraction there. If Rose didn't know better, she'd have thought the whole town had been crammed into the house; she'd already met John's friend Mickey, and his girlfriend Martha, who happened to be a GP at the health centre, and Donna's mother Sylvia was sweeping about with plates of nibbles and directing people to the buffet in the kitchen, telling them with a slightly strained smile and ever-so-slightly hysterical tone that "it'll only go to waste!". Wilf was easy to spot, the reindeer antlers still on his head, and Rose had watched in amusement (some distance away) while Sylvia argued with her father to take the blasted things off. Wilf had refused, and had stalked off to chat with Oscar about astronomy. Sarah Jane Smith had even been around somewhere, though Rose wasn't sure if the woman had already left; it appeared that she was a mutual friend of both the Smiths and the Nobles, and had evidently known both families for a number of years. Even the local vicar, Rory Williams, had dropped by for a while, with his wife Amy and their two children, seven year old Melody (who was apparently going through a faze where she insisted on being known as River, and having her long blonde hair in curls) and four year old Anthony. Rose had seen the kids a few times, and had chatted with Amy while waiting to pick the kids up from school; Olivia and Melody got on well, it seemed, as they were in the same class at school, and Felix and Anthony had started school together.

Rose was still straining for a sighting of John, or the kids, or even Donna, when Jack cleared his throat. He was still staring at her, eyebrow arched and expression sceptical.

"Abusive relationship," Rose ground out, jaw set at the man. "Didn't exactly have time for house hunting."

And then she was pushing away from him, through the other people, still searching for John. She could hear Jack calling after her, apologising, but she paid him no heed. Rose eventually found John in the kitchen, chatting with Donna. Both looked up as Rose entered, and Donna grinned, reaching for a bottle of wine.

"Want a drink, Rose?" Donna asked, even as she poured herself another glass.

Rose swallowed, eyes darting to the bottle Donna was holding. It was tempting, definitely tempting. But she'd stopped drinking, about a year or so back, after she'd gotten hangover and hadn't woken up in time to cook Jimmy breakfast. The beating she'd earned for that wasn't worth the drinking the night before, she decided, and she hadn't touched a drop since. It would only get her hurt. So, she gave a small, tight smile, and shook her head.

"No thanks," she responded quietly.

Donna blinked, then shrugged. It was then that Jack appeared, brow furrowed in concern.

"Look, Rose," the American sighed, ignoring Donna and John altogether, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't… I shouldn't have been asking you stuff like that, not when it was making you uncomfortable-"

He didn't get any further in his apology then, because John let out an annoyed groan, glaring at his friend.

"Jack," he asked lowly, "what the hell did you do this time?"

"He was just asking questions," Rose piped up quietly, shrugging. "It's fine. I overreacted."

John blinked, before turning back to Jack, ignoring Rose entirely.

"What did you ask?" he asked, annoyance growing.

"Just why she came here without looking for jobs or flats first," Jack responded, teeth grit, annoyed at how John was demanding answers.

John sighed then.

"You bloody well know why!" John hissed angrily. "I bloody told you not to say anything!"

"You told him?" Rose interrupted before Jack could form a reply.

John spun round to see Rose staring at him in disbelief, eyes wide and ever so slightly panicked.

"Rose, I-"

"No," Rose interrupted, glaring at John. "I don't want to hear it. I told you that in confidence. How many more people have you told, hmm? Do the kids know? Did Donna? Mickey? Why don't you just announce it to everyone, yeah? You can put an end to those pathetic rumours, too, while you're at it."

And then, she was pushing past them, heading for the front door.

**~StormWolf10~**

It was with some shock that, over half an hour later, John found Rose in the sitting room, playing with Felix and Olivia.

"Thought you'd gone home," he told her quietly as he took a seat beside her on the floor.

Rose shrugged.

"The kids wanted me to play with them," she told him quietly, refusing to look at him as she spoke.

John nodded, watching in silence for a few minutes as Rose played with his two youngest children. While she point-blank ignored him, she was very attentive with the two children, playing with the toy cars Felix had brought with him, and chatting animatedly to them.

"I'm glad you stayed," John announced suddenly, voice still quiet.

Rose sniffed.

"Yeah, well, like I said," she replied, voice soft, "the kids wanted me to play with them. And that's my job, to look after your kids."

She sounded bitter, and John continued watching her in silence. It was a few minutes later that Sylvia called out that she'd put some dessert out, and then Livvy and Felix were off, running towards the kitchen.

"My job is to look after your kids," Rose repeated suddenly, finally lifting her head to glare at John. "But that doesn't give you the right to treat me like shit, or to spread personal information about me."

"I know," John told her quietly, "and I'm sorry. But it was when we went to the pub, the night before you moved in, and Mickey and Jack were coming up with all these stupid rumours about why you'd moved here, and I just wanted to set them straight, to stop them speculating."

"You could have told me," Rose responded softly. "If I wanted people to keep things from me, I would have stayed with my boyfriend."

**~StormWolf10~**

It was Alex who unlocked the front door, a tired Oscar trailing after him. A few seconds later, John stumbled in, Olivia half-asleep in his arms, while Rose brought up the rear with a fast asleep Felix to juggle in her arms.

"You two need to go straight to bed, ok?" John told his eldest two boys quietly. "It's almost eleven."

Alex looked about to protest, but Oscar just nodded. Getting coats and shoes and scarves off was a little difficult, particularly with John and Rose carrying Olivia and Felix. But somehow, after only a few minutes more than it would usually take, everyone had their coats, shoes and scarves off, and were heading for the stairs. Alex and Oscar disappeared with a mumbled 'night', and soon Rose and John were putting the youngest two children to bed.

"Could you, uh, help me put the presents under the tree?" John asked Rose suddenly, voice quiet and eyes betraying his uncertainty.

Rose, however, nodded, giving him a small smile. With all four children tucked up in bed, the two adults pulled the bags of presents from John's room and headed back downstairs.

"Rose," John asked, voice quiet.

Rose looked up from where she was sat on the sofa filling the children's stockings.

"Are we alright?" John continued, a little worriedly.

Rose just looked at him, and John panicked, launching into a ramble.

"Because, it's just, I want us to be alright, but I don't think we are. And I've been an idiot, I shouldn't have told Jack and Mickey and Donna about why you moved here, not without asking your permission. But I wanted to stop those rumours, and I thought I was doing the right thing. I really haven't told the kids, though. Wouldn't want to worry them… But I don't think I like the idea of us not being alright, because… Well, I like to think that we're friends. And also, you're great with the kids, and they love you, and if you left… I think they'd be devastated." He paused then, blinked, and then continued, voice suddenly soft and worried. "I'd be devastated."

Rose blinked, watching the worried look in John's eyes for a few moments. Then, she stood, crossing the floor to where John was knelt in front of the tree. She knelt beside him, smiling a little uncertainly.

"John," she responded, voice soft. "We're alright."

Moments later, John was pulling her to him in a fierce hug.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: In which Alex attends a counselling session, and John makes a realisation**

"So," Harriet Jones asked, smiling at Alex as she shifted the pad of paper balancing on her lap, "how was your Christmas, Alex."

"Alright," the boy shrugged. "Dad and Rose had a bit of a row Christmas Eve, I think. They were talking on Christmas Day, but things seemed a bit… Tense."

He shrugged again then, gaze skittering away to the corner of the room. He didn't, however, miss Harriet beginning to take notes.

"And how's school going?" Harriet continued, not looking up from her pad.

Alex watched Harriet for a few moments in silence. When Harriet glanced up, he wrinkled his nose.

"Boring," he admitted eventually. "But I'm doing alright, I guess."

Harriet made some more notes then. They continued for a while, Harriet asking about school work, about his siblings, about how he felt about Rose looking after him and the others. It was the usual stuff, and Alex was fairly certain the same topics came up every week, just in a different order and worded differently. Still, it gave him chance to vent, if need be, and time to talk about his Mum if necessary.

"Now," Harriet said finally, after half an hour of questions, "anything else you'd like to talk about? Anything worrying you?"

Alex shook his head, and Harriet smiled again, clasping both hands together as she rested them on her pad of paper.

"Well, then," she stated with a smile. "I see no reason to keep you any longer. Same time next week?"

Alex nodded, getting to his feet and hefting his rucksack onto his shoulder. As he reached the door, however, he paused, and turned back to Harriet.

"Harriet?" he piped up nervously.

The woman raised her head, and gave him an encouraging nod.

"Thanks for this," Alex completed quietly, smiling awkwardly before slipping out the door.

**~StormWolf10~**

When Alex got home, he could hear the laughter and yelling of his siblings from the sitting room. They'd evidently finished his homework, he realised, as he couldn't hear Rose trying to hurry them back to the study room.

"I'm home," he called out as he slipped off his rucksack and pulled off his coat.

He heard Rose call back from the sitting room as he began tugging his shoes off. That done, he hung his coat up and added his shoes to the cluster below the hooks. Then, he padded into the sitting room.

"How'd the session with Harriet go today?" Rose asked, sat cross-legged on the floor, doing colouring with Felix, Olivia and Oscar.

"Alright," Alex nodded, taking a seat on one of the sofas. "Wasn't much to talk about, though."

Then, the twelve year old blinked, and stared at Rose again.

"You… You've cut your hair," the boy stated, suddenly realising.

Rose just looked up from the colouring briefly, flashing the boy a grin and nodding before returning her attention to the colouring sheet Felix had pushed in front of her.

"Yeah, well," Rose shrugged, not looking round but one hand going to fluff up her now shoulder-length hair. "Thought it was getting a bit long."

In truth, Rose had figured that she'd be better off cutting it; if Jimmy did eventually sniff her out, hopefully her having a different haircut would buy her some more time. Wouldn't throw him off her scent entirely, but hopefully give her enough time to get out and save the Smiths from getting tangled up in all the mess.

But then Felix was tugging at her sleeve, thrusting a colouring sheet at her. Rose took it, a little perplexed, and saw that the four year old had ripped a sheet out of his Winnie the Pooh colouring book, the drawing of Tigger and Roo coloured in rather crudely.

"It's for you," Felix stated with a grin.

Rose blinked, and looked back at the piece of paper in the corner. Written in the corner, in Felix's barely legible handwriting was 'Too Rose love Felix xx'. Rose grinned then, leaning forward to press a kiss to the boy's forehead.

"Thank you, Felix," Rose told the boy with a grin. "Can I put this in my room later?"

Felix nodded eagerly, already reaching for more felt pens.

**~StormWolf10~**

John blinked. He wasn't sure why he was so surprised; after all, it was a sight that met him on a daily basis. But this time, something had changed. He was staring at the row of Converses in the entrance, just below the coat hooks, completely ignoring the little pile of school shoes against the wall behind him. He'd just slipped his own slightly grubby burgundy Converses off, and then there were Alex's dark blue Converses, followed by Oscar's white Converse hi-tops, then Olivia's blue Converses, then Felix's tiny white pair of hi-tops at the end. But in between John's and Alex's Converses was a new pair of Converses. They were Rose's, John realised, the grey pair that the kids had picked out for her as her Christmas present. As the kids had kept insisting, Rose had needed at least one pair of Converses so she fitted in with the rest of them. Rose had grinned and laughed when she'd unwrapped them, but John hadn't been so sure that she'd actually wear them. Although her trainers were filthy and falling apart, a pair of Velcro things she'd evidently been wearing for at least two years, John hadn't thought Converses were really her thing. Evidently, he'd been wrong.

He padded through to the sitting room then, ears straining to hear where the faint strains of talking were coming from. He found it almost immediately, a sheet and pillow tent at the other end of the room where, until just a few days ago, the Christmas tree had stood. He could hear giggles from Felix and Olivia, and Oscar's excited chatter as they made up stories with Rose. John padded closer then, a small smile growing on his face. The voices stopped suddenly as John approached, and then suddenly Felix burst out, barrelling towards John as he giggled.

"Daddy! Daddy, come and join us in the cave!" Felix announced excitedly, already tugging on John's arm.

"I have to start dinner-" John began to protest feebly.

"Already on," Rose called out, still hidden by the heaps of sheets and blankets and cushions (and now John thought of it, he was pretty certain those were his sofa cushions). "Fish and oven chips ok?"

John just blinked, and allowed Felix to drag him to the tent-cave. He dropped to his knees, watching as the boy crawled inside, before following. He blinked then, staring at Rose.

"You've had your hair cut," John noted, blinking again.

Rose just smirked.

"Yeah," she nodded, still grinning. "Alex had the same reaction. You boys act as if you've never seen a girl cut her hair short."

"But it… It was nice," John protested, brow furrowing even as he was oblivious to his four children sniggering at him. "It was nice long. I liked it." Then, his eyes widened and he furiously back-pedalled at what he'd just said. "I mean, not that it's not nice now. It's lovely, looks very good. Suits you."

John was nodding furiously by now, wide-eyed and digging himself into a deeper hole the more he talked. Rose just watched in amusement, while Alex looked embarrassed for his Dad and Oscar, Olivia and Felix giggled. John fell silent then, and Rose smirked, before returning her attention to the kids.

John watched in silence as they continued their game. He wasn't sure if one of the kids had started it, or whether Rose had, but it appeared to involve the five (well, now six with John joining them) of them having been separated from the TARDIS and forced to stay in a cave while whatever threat lurking outside got bored and left them alone. As the kids and Rose continued playing, John took the time to observe each of his children, and his au pair. He was quietly impressed with Alex's involvement, actually; since Romana had died, Alex had been reluctant to join in any of the TARDIS games despite joining the others down in the outhouse. He'd grown even more reluctant since starting senior school, and yet somehow, Rose had gotten him joining in with the game. Oscar was chattering away excitedly, chipping in information that Wilf had taught him about Astronomy, and generally just helping Rose make new stuff for the game up. The boy had always been outgoing, even in the aftermath of his Mother's death, John realised. Maybe it was just his way of coping. Olivia was trying in vain to turn the TARDIS adventure into something a little more girly, attempting to establish that the cave was owned by a talking unicorn, before she clambered into Rose's lap and settled there, clearly content. Felix was clutching at his battered Tigger toy, giggling and attempting to join in with his own ideas, snuggled into Rose's side quite happily as she ran her fingers absent-mindedly through his dark hair, brushing the curls back from his forehead. It seemed that all the kids adored Rose, even Alex, who was still trying to look as impartial as possible even as he joined in the game.

It was then that John turned his attention to Rose. He couldn't help but remember how she'd been all those times she'd come into Arcadia Books, all nervous smiles and small talk about the weather. She'd been closed in, wouldn't talk about herself, had been shaking from lack of sleep. And yet the woman in front of him, surrounded by his children, wasn't the woman from the bookstore. She was much more relaxed, much happier, and looked altogether healthier. She'd lost the startled, terrified look in her eyes somewhat, though John thought he still saw a flash of it sometimes, and whatever her former boyfriend had done in their relationship to make her so terrified and alone, it seemed to have healed somewhat. Still, John couldn't help but think there were some things Rose was still petrified to talk about, but he wouldn't push. Not if it would make her retreat in on herself. Because, whether she realised it or not, she'd changed a lot since she'd moved in just over two months previously. She'd… She'd settled. She still got nervous sometimes, John had noticed, but she seemed to have settled into their home, into their family. Rose took each day with more ease now, playing and talking with the kids, and managing the school run with no bother at all. She'd been so reluctant at first, her first few days with them she'd been so tense and uncertain. But now… Now, she looked- dare he say it?- happy. John only hoped it could remain that way.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: In which we meet a few of the townsfolk a bit better, and Rose has one hell of a shock.**

The rest of January, and the whole of February seemed to pass in a blur, and soon it was the beginning of March. Though still chilly, the days were getting just that little bit warmer, and already the kids were pestering to go to the beach. John refused, of course, but placated them with bike rides in the woods. The school runs seemed to be getting easier and easier as time went on, with Rose and John working in unison to get the kids up, dressed, have breakfast and a glass of juice, teeth brushed, hair brush, shoes on, and school and lunch bag in their hands. The teachers at Heartshaven Primary had become accustomed to Rose, too, giving her warm smiles rather than the sceptical glances when she'd first arrived in Gallifrey.

"Sarah Jane! Daddy took the stabilisers off my bike yesterday!" Olivia announced happily as they headed inside the playground Monday morning to find Sarah Jane Smith on playground duty.

"Livvy," Rose scolded quietly, "it's Miss Smith during school hours, isn't it?"

Olivia huffed, but turned back to Sarah Jane.

"Daddy says it's 'cause I'm almost eight, and I'm a big girl now," the girl continued, oblivious to Rose's scolding.

Sarah Jane just smiled at the little girl.

"That you are," Sarah Jane agreed with a smile, before crouching down. "But Rose is right, Livvy, you have to remember to call me Miss Smith while at school, ok?"

The girl huffed again, and pouted, before nodding. It wasn't long before Oscar disappeared with friends, Olivia and Felix tugging at Rose's arms as she talked with Sarah Jane. Soon, though, the bell was ringing for the start of school, and Sarah Jane bade goodbye, taking Felix with her to line him up. With a brief hug from Olivia, Rose watched the girl run off before heading out of the playground. There really wasn't much to be done around the house that day, Rose decided, and she didn't want to sit inside on her own. Maybe, she decided, it was time to get to know the town a little better.

**~StormWolf10~**

Somehow, while she was lost in her own thoughts, Rose had ended up outside Arcadia Books. With a grin, she pushed open the door and stepped inside. Donna and John had been talking behind the counter, but turned and looked as Rose entered.

"Rose," John stated, perplexed. "What are you doing here?"

"Nothing to do back at the house, and the kids are at school, so I figured I could come and see if you needed a hand here," Rose responded with a shrug.

The Doctor nodded slowly, before looking around the shop.

"I was just about to restock some shelves, if you wanna give me a hand," he told her, hands going to the pocket of his jeans.

Rose nodded, smiling, and John brought out a pile of books from behind the counter.

"I didn't interrupt anything when I came in, did I?" Rose asked nervously, noting how Donna and John had suddenly fallen silent.

John shook his head, already making his way over to restock shelves. Rose followed.

"We were talking about Jack, actually," Donna admitted, coming out from behind the counter. "He's been saying about trying to contact his brother. They're estranged."

"That's awful," Rose murmured, brow furrowing.

"Must be," Donna agreed, leaning against the counter with her arms folded. "Never had any siblings, but if I did I don't think I'd like being separated from them."

John remained silent, glancing over every now and then while he put books back.

"It's horrible," Rose agreed.

"No siblings yourself?" Donna asked Rose uncertainly.

She ignored John's pointed look and shake of his head. Rose swallowed.

"Dad died in a hit and run accident when I was six months old, Mum overdosed five months later. Already dead before the ambulance could get there, the pair of them," Rose told them quietly. Then, she suddenly became very focused on putting the books back. "In and out of care ever since." She paused again, hand hovering just where she'd slid the last book onto the shelf. "And no siblings. Not anymore."

John froze then, blinking. He heard Donna gasp, but ignored her. Gently, he eased the remaining books out of Rose's arms and set them on the top of some other books before pulling Rose into a hug. John heard Donna moving closer, and soon she appeared at their shoulders, looking concerned.

"I'm sorry, Rose," Donna admitted quietly, shaking her head. "It… It was stupid."

Rose sniffed and pulled away from John, forcing a small smile as she shook her head.

"You didn't know. It wasn't your fault," she dismissed quietly. "I hadn't even told John about Tony."

In all honesty, John knew Rose hadn't told him any more than that both her parents had died when she was young. Ever since he'd found out she'd been fostered, he'd been curious to know, but she'd opened up in her own time, on Boxing Day after the kids were asleep. He hadn't, however, known that Rose had lost a sibling.

"Tony..?" Donna echoed, brow furrowing slightly.

"My twin," Rose nodded, forcing another weak smile. "He died but I lived." She snorted softly then, and continued in a voice so quiet that John barely heard. "Shouldn't have happened. Shouldn't have been me, not after what I've done."

There was an uncomfortable silence, then, the air thick with tension.

"How about you get Rose home?" Donna suggested to John suddenly, voice soft. "I can manage here on my own."

**~StormWolf10~**

"Want to talk about what happened at the bookshop?" John asked quietly once they were inside the house.

Rose just shook her head, eyes still damp as she tugged off her coat and shoes. She'd worn her Converses, John noted.

"You know you can talk to me whenever needed, yeah?" John continued.

Rose nodded, but again didn't say a word.

"Seeing as I'm home, would you prefer if I picked the kids up from school?" John asked again as he hung up his coat. "Or we could go together?"

Rose looked up then, a small smile tugging at her lips.

"Yeah," she agreed quietly. "I'd like that."

**~StormWolf10~**

"Are we going to the church fete next week, Daddy?" Olivia asked suddenly, frowning up at John.

Rose and John had gone together to collect the kids, and they were on their way home, Felix and Olivia hanging off Rose's and John's arms respectively, Oscar following as he trailed his school bag behind him.

"Yes," John replied with a small frown. "We go every year. Why?"

"'Cause Melody was asking," Freya stated calmly. "An' I promised her I'd go."

"Well," John nodded, "you can tell Melody you'll see her there."

"A church fete in the middle of March?" Rose chipped in a little incredulously, a bemused expression on her face. "Don't they usually have them at the start of May?"

"We have one then, too," John responded, "but we also have one mid-March." Then, he frowned. "Can't really remember why… Something about the month of when the town was first established, however many years ago that was."

Rose nodded, but was still a little surprised. It seemed Gallifrey was even odder than she'd first realised.

"Can Rose come?" Felix piped up suddenly, beaming up at John even as he clung to Rose's arm.

"Well, I'm sure Rose will come if she wants to," John told his son with a small smile, glancing at Rose before returning his attention to Felix.

Almost immediately, Felix turned his attention to Rose, as did Olivia.

"Please?" Felix begged, wide-eyed as he stared up at Rose. "Please say you'll come!"

Rose couldn't help but laugh as Olivia joined in with the begging, and soon even Oscar had joined them, running to Rose's other side to tug at her arm.

"I'll think about it," she told them after a few minutes with a grin.

Satisfied, the kids ran off ahead of them down the road.

**~StormWolf10~**

It wasn't long until the day of the church fete arrived. It was an overcast day, but John assured Rose that, if it did start raining, they would simply move the fete inside the church. She'd eventually agreed to go, but as Rose followed the Smiths up the path to the church, she couldn't help but realise that she'd never actually been inside the church before. She'd seen it from a distance, of course, and passed it a few times when they took the kids out for walks, but had never stepped inside the grounds. It looked much as a church could be expected to look, and the grounds were packed with stalls and games and townsfolk alike. The whole of Gallifrey must have turned out for the event, despite the grey skies. They'd barely gotten inside, however, before the kids ran off as they spotted someone. Rose hastened to follow after the kids and John, looking around her as she did so. The stalls were a variety of things; some sold pot plants, some sold brick-a-brack, and some were simply fairground games. There were a few stalls raising money for local causes, too. One for the church, one for the local Scout club, and even one for Alex's school, the Prydon Academy.

When Rose did eventually pay attention to where the children were leading her, she was surprised to find herself outside the medical tent. However, when she saw Martha Jones, everything suddenly slotted into place.

"You got to work today, then?" John asked Martha, hands in his pockets.

Martha nodded, straightening up from where she'd been saying hello to Felix.

"Yeah," Martha responded. "But it does mean that I won't be working for the one in May. We've split the surgery in half; half of us are here for medical support for this fete, and then in May the other half of the staff will manage the medical tent." She sighed then, looking around wistfully. "Mickey's around somewhere, with Jack and Donna. I think I've seen Sarah Jane around, too."

"Don't you get breaks?" Rose asked, frowning in confusion. "To look around, and get food and stuff?"

She'd only met Martha and Mickey briefly on Christmas Eve, had been too worried about finding John to chat with them much, but Rose found that she quite liked the other woman, and was a bit annoyed that Martha would have to just sit there while everyone else had fun. Martha wrinkled her nose.

"Short breaks," she admitted. "To get food, get a drink and stuff. But I have to come back immediately if I get called, and although it's unlikely anything major will happen, you'll be surprised about the amount of people who get minor injuries by falling over a stall, or tripping on a flowerbed, or something."

John nodded, gazing around for a few moments.

"Well then," he said after a while, "we'd better leave you to your work. We'll pop back and see you a little later on."

His hand on Oscar's shoulder, he began to usher the kids away, giving Rose a pointed look when Felix tried to cling to Martha.

"We can come back later," Rose reminded the boy with a smile as she lifted him into her arms. "Now, say bye to Martha for now."

Felix pouted, reluctantly waving goodbye to Martha as he was carried away.

**~StormWolf10~**

The inside of the church was just as hectic as outside. The pews couldn't be moved, so small stalls were set up around the edge of the room, making the building difficult to navigate without bumping into something or someone.

"Livvy!"

Rose looked up at the sound of the cheerful, little voice, to see Melody Williams slipping through the pews towards them. Her brother Anthony was stumbling after his sister, trying to keep up. When Melody eventually reached them, she flung herself at Olivia as the two girls hugged. Moments later, Melody's mother, Amy, appeared behind the children.

"John!" Amy greeted with a smile, moving round the children to shake John's hand and hug Rose. "Glad you made it; these two have been running Rory and I ragged, asking when you were going to get here!"

"We stopped off to talk to Martha," John replied, gesturing vaguely over his shoulder in the general direction of the medical tent outside. "She's had to work."

Amy sighed and nodded.

"Rory and I saw Mickey earlier," the redheaded Scot admitted. "He's with Jack and Donna. He said Martha had to work. It's a shame, really."

John and Rose nodded in agreement, Rose watching as Alex wandered off to a group of boys his age- friends from school, Rose assumed. Felix and Anthony were chattering away, as were Melody and Olivia, and Rose couldn't help but smile. Oscar had remained at John's side, attempting to join in the adults' conversation.

"I've been meaning to ask, actually," Amy began again suddenly, eyes on her children. "Would Livvy and Felix like to come round for tea one night? The kids have been pestering me for weeks. Oscar could come too, if he'd like."

Oscar didn't look overly keen on the idea, probably due to the age gap between him and Felix and Anthony. Still, he smiled gratefully at Amy.

"Yeah," John nodded, watching as both Olivia and Felix nodded eagerly at the suggestion. "Yeah, that would be good. Melody and Anthony could come round for tea some time, too."

At that, John glanced at Rose, almost for reassurance, and Rose blinked in confusion. Then, she realised, that he was asking for her permission. She'd be the one picking two extra children up from the school, Rose supposed, and possibly even cooking their tea. Really, it was down to her rather than John, and he seemed to realise it.

"That would be good," Rose nodded after a moment, glancing at John before nodding at Amy. "Would get the kids out of my hair for an afternoon, too."

Amy grinned at that, nodding in agreement. Then, she heard her name being called.

"I'd best be getting back," Amy admitted with an apologetic smile, before leaning forward and whispering conspiratorially. "I'm meant to be running the cake stall!" She straightened up then. "Rory's around somewhere, probably talking to someone again…" Amy sighed, looking to her children. "Come on then, you two. We'd best be getting back now."

Anthony huffed, while Melody pouted and folded her arms across her chest.

"But Livvy and Felix have just gotten here!" Melody complained angrily.

"I know," Amy sighed, "but I promised to help run the stall, and-"

"We'll take them if you want," John cut in. "Don't know what time we'll be heading back, but it'll at least give the kids an hour or two together, and we'll bring them back here when we leave."

Amy smiled gratefully at that.

"Sure you don't mind?" Amy asked with a smile. "You know what these four are like when they get together!"

John grinned.

"Oh, I know," John nodded. "I still remember what happened that time Romana tried to bake cakes with them. But really, we're more than happy to take them for a while, saves them hanging around the stall and sticking their fingers in the cakes!"

"That was Anthony, not me!" Melody cut in quickly, wide-eyed.

Amy smirked.

"Don't think I didn't see you sticking your finger in the chocolate sponge earlier," Amy told her daughter, stern tone ruined by her smirk. "Now go on," Amy continued, bending down to kiss both of her children on the forehead. "You two be good for John and Rose, ok?"

Melody and Anthony nodded, and moments later, Amy was weaving her way back through the pews.

**~StormWolf10~**

They eventually found Jack, Donna and Mickey near the hook-a-duck game, Jack getting increasingly frustrated as he failed to actually hook any of the ducks. Mickey and Donna were sniggering, watching as children from the Primary school succeeded in hooking ducks faster than Jack was.

"You do realise that five year olds are having less trouble with this than you are, right?" John asked with a grin as they approached.

Jack shot his friend a glare over his shoulder, before spotting Rose. He gave her a small, awkward smile and turned back to the game.

"It's harder than it looks," Jack groused bitterly, glaring as yet another seven year old hooked a duck, received his prize, and ran off to show their parents.

John raised an eyebrow, watching the child disappear through the crowds.

"Yeah?" John asked with a smirk. "So how come Jamie McCrimmon's son just won a toy dog after five minutes?"

Jack sniffed, and didn't bother replying.

"Have you seen Martha?" Donna asked as Jack continued attempting to hook a duck. "She's had to work."

John nodded.

"We saw her when we came in," Rose nodded. "But she said it should mean she wouldn't have to work for the May Day fete."

Mickey nodded.

"That's the plan, anyway," Mickey agreed. "Not sure whether it will happen, though."

"Why not?" John asked, watching as Oscar, Olivia, Melody, Felix and Anthony all peered over the edge of the pool to watch Jack fail to hook a duck. Alex was still with his friends, presumably, but John knew the boy would get back to them sooner or later.

"Dr Sullivan is saying about moving," Mickey continued. "Wants to go back into surgery, and he's been offered a place in a hospital in London. The Royal Hope, or something. Anyway, means that they'll be a doctor down, and could mean that Martha will have to cover for him."

"Pretty unfair," Rose responded, frowning.

"Of course it is," Donna sighed, "but they don't particularly care about that as long as they have medical staff on hand."

"There's always the possibility she'll be called in anyway," Mickey added. "They always have all the staff at the surgery on standby in case there's a big accident. There's not usually any need to call extra staff in, there's usually not any accidents, but…"

"There's always the possibility." John concluded knowingly.

Rose sighed, looking around the fete at all the people milling around. And then, she froze. It couldn't be, surely it couldn't be…

But then, Rose decided, as her eyes widened and she watched the person disappear through the crowds, as John had said, there was always the possibility…


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: In which we find out just who Rose thought she'd seen, we learn more about just why she's so scared of Jimmy, and the group go out for chips.**

Wide-eyed, Rose just stared. She was aware of Mickey and Donna and John still talking, aware of Jack finally giving up on the hook a duck, aware of the kids coming back over to them, but all she could do was stare in the direction of the figure. She must have been mistaken, Rose decided, desperately trying to convince herself. It couldn't have been him, it just couldn't. But maybe it was, maybe things had been going too well, maybe this was her punishment for allowing herself to be happy, allowing herself to settle into life with John Smith and his children…

It was then and only then, that Rose realised a hand was on her shoulder. She blinked, turning her head back to look at the others. She came face to face with John then, his expression full of concern as his hand gripped at her shoulder. He was saying her name, Rose realised, and the more she concentrated on that fact, the louder his voice seemed to get.

"Rose? Rose, are you alright?"

Rose blinked again, swallowed, and nodded.

"You've gone pale," Oscar piped up, frowning as he watched his au pair in concern.

"I… I just thought I saw someone," Rose explained, voice soft and distant. "Someone I knew from London."

"I'm sure you didn't," Donna assured gently even as she tugged a curious Felix away from Rose and John to give Rose a little more space. "Probably just your imagination. I mean, it wasn't someone you told you were moving here, was it?"

Rose shook her head, eyes beginning to well with infuriated tears. She'd been an idiot. A bloody fool. She'd known the risks of leaving Jimmy, had known just how much influence he had in gangs across London, it was entirely possible that that influence extended across the country. And now, now she'd gone and dragged John Smith and his children into the situation. She wiped furiously at her eyes then, as tears began to fall. She heard John sigh sympathetically, tug her in for a hug.

"Was it someone who used to be around your ex-boyfriend?" John asked, whispering the question in Rose's ear so the others couldn't hear what was being asked.

Rose nodded, biting her lip as she willed back the tears. John only hugged her tighter.

**~StormWolf10~**

"His name was Adam. Adam Mitchell. Used to be round Jimmy's quite a lot. Nearly always pissed. Then again, so were the rest of Jimmy's mates, and Jimmy. I was just there to… Well, to clear up after them, keep the fridge stocked with beers, make food for them… An' if I stepped out of line, Jimmy would give 'em permission to beat me. Adam was one of the ones that took particular joy from that, all because we'd met in a club not long before I began dating Jimmy. I turned Adam down, said I wasn't interested, and… Well, any time he got permission from Jimmy to beat me for my transgressions, he never held back."

The kitchen was dark as Rose lapsed into a momentary silence, her gaze focused on her mug even despite knowing that John was watching her carefully. They'd stayed at the church fete a little longer after Rose had been so sure she'd seen Adam Mitchell in the crowds. John had wanted to take her home immediately, not only in case the man was actually there, but also because Rose had gotten herself rather worked up. Rose, however, had refused to cut their day out short, insisting that the kids were having a good time. Still, as they moved through the crowds, Rose had continued trembling, her hand clammy in John's and eventually, he'd had had enough, leaving the children with Donna, Jack and Mickey while he led Rose to the medical tent, insisting that she was having a panic attack. It hadn't taken Martha more than a minute or so to agree with John's diagnosis, and the man had been quick to phone Donna to explain that he was taking Rose home. Donna had returned Melody and Anthony to Amy, and apologised for Rose's and John's sudden disappearance, before she'd located Alex and walked the four Smith children home.

Now, however, the children were in bed, John insisting to the four children that Rose was fine. While Alex and Oscar were sceptical, and even Olivia was a little uncertain, Felix had happily accepted a goodnight hug from Rose, failing to notice his au pair's slightly strained smile. John, on the other hand, wasn't going to let the conversation drop so easily.

"I just… I can't help but wonder," Rose continued after a few moments, brow furrowed as her eyes remained on her mug of tea, "if Jimmy… If that was really Adam I saw, if Jimmy sent him to fetch me." She trailed off, shaking her head before finally meeting John's gaze. Her eyes were wide and pleading, her desperation obvious. "He wouldn't do that, would he? It wasn't Adam coming to hurt me, was it?"

John blinked, unsure how to answer Rose's pleading. He watched her across the table, wishing desperately that he could give her an answer, but he didn't know what this Jimmy was like, and he didn't know whether Adam was in Gallifrey or not… Rose continued pleading with him, wide-eyed and panicked, and John suddenly found himself on his feet, moving round the table to hug Rose to him.

"I'm sure it wasn't Adam, Rose," John told her quietly, even as his brow furrowed and he tried to work out just why he was trying to reassure her about someone he didn't know. "And you're safe here, in Gallifrey. We won't let anyone hurt you."

**~StormWolf10~**

"I'm tellin' you, she's here! Fuck sake, I know what she looks like, Jimmy, an' it's definitely her, here in Gallifrey. Looks like your tip-off was right. It's definitely that slut Tyler, she's cut her hair shorter, but it's definitely her."

Adam Mitchell was pacing, his mobile against his ear and his expression annoyed. Why wouldn't people just believe him? He'd been sent to bloody well pick up Rose Tyler, but as soon as he phoned back to London to confirm her hiding place, no one would bloody believe him. It was driving him up the wall.

"She was with some bloke," Adam continued with an annoyed growl, "an' his kids. Five of them, though I think two of them weren't his, cause they had blonde hair instead of brown… But she's in Gallifrey, looks like she's let her guard down, Jimmy! We can get that little slut, make her pay for leavin' us in the lurch… She needs to pay anyway, for cocking up that deal. I told you not to send that little bitch to do such a big deal, she doesn't have a fucking clue what she's doin'… Jimmy, I don't bloody care if you're in charge, she fucked up the deal for us, then pissed off! I'm tellin' ya, she's only good enough for a few punches an' a quick shag. An' even that's hit and miss sometimes…"

Adam quietened then, as someone walked past. It was late, almost ten, and while not many people were out and about, he'd be willing to bet that this stupid little town was full of busybodies, and he didn't need to draw attention to himself, not if he was going to remain low to get to Rose.

"Look," Adam huffed into the phone angrily, "she's bloody gone and attached herself to some bloke. Willing to bet she's moved in with him, little slut. It's gonna take me longer to get her back to London, particularly if we wanna leave the bloke out of it. We need a plan, Jimmy, and we need one soon." He sighed then. "Look, I'll call again tomorrow morning. I'm gonna need some backup."

**~StormWolf10~ **

As March ended and April began, John hardly let Rose out of his sight. Of course, she still did the school run on her own, but even the kids had gotten rather protective of her. When Olivia had had her birthday party, when she'd turned eight, the girl had hardly left her au pair's side, and when she did, it was only because Oscar or Alex were sticking close by. Rose hadn't seen Adam again, and John tried to reassure her that it probably wasn't even him, probably just someone who looked like him from a distance. Still, Rose had withdrawn on herself somewhat, spending much of her time inside where possible. She was even reluctant to join the kids down the bottom of the garden in the TARDIS.

"Dad?"

John was jerked from his thoughts by Oscar entering the kitchen, brow furrowed as he held something in his hands.

"I found this in the bushes," Oscar continued, crossing to where John was stood by the sink, having just finished the washing up from lunch.

John frowned, taking the shattered object from his son.

"It's a mobile phone," Oscar added needlessly, watching his Dad carefully.

John nodded, turning the phone over in his hands with a frown on his face.

"Well, it's not mine or Alex's," John murmured to himself, well aware of Oscar still watching him. "An' it's not Rose's…"

He trailed off then, suspicious. Rose had told him she didn't have a phone, but she'd lived in London, with an abusive boyfriend who- at least according to Rose's fears that Jimmy had sent someone to 'collect' her- kept tabs on her. Surely a boyfriend that possessive would want to know where his girlfriend was every minute of the day? And surely that would mean a mobile phone?

Aware that Oscar was still watching him, John forced a smile, crossing to drop the broken phone into the bin.

"Probably got thrown over the wall," John told the boy. "Don't forget those older kids used to play football in the patch of grass behind the garden. Now go on, get back outside before Felix and Livvy go on an adventure without you."

Oscar disappeared then, heading back out into the garden. John watched him go, and the moment the boy was in the garden, his smile dropped. He didn't want to doubt Rose, he really didn't, but at the same time, it made sense; with a boyfriend that possessive and that abusive, she'd obviously wanted to distance herself, make it so he couldn't contact her. While John was annoyed about the possibility Rose had lied about not having a phone, he thought that he at least understood her reasons why.

He couldn't go question her on it, though. It would be awkward, and with Rose already closing in on herself, John didn't want to push her away any more. She was already struggling a bit with interactions outside of the house, no need to make things difficult inside the house too. Besides, she was napping on the sofa in the front room, and John knew for a fact that it was the first time she'd slept in several days. John sighed then, leaning against the kitchen worktop. Maybe it would help to get her out for a bit, with him and the kids. His mind made up, he reached for his own mobile and dialled Donna's number.

**~StormWolf10~**

"You alright?" John asked, watching Rose in concern as they took a seat at a table in the pub garden.

Rose nodded, smiling weakly as the kids scrambled onto the bench on the other side of the table. John returned the weak smile with equal weakness, beginning to wonder if this was a bad idea. He'd thought that getting Rose out of the house, getting her down the pub with the kids and Donna, Jack, Mickey and Martha might do her some good, but now he wasn't sure. Rose was watching everyone carefully, trying not to let on just how scared she really was.

It wasn't long before they were ordering food and drinks, which consisted of several portions of chips, six beers, and four cokes (including a beer for Rose, much to John's surprise). The kids were chattering away, about school and the upcoming Easter holidays, and whether they could stay with Jack during the holidays.

"Course you can," Jack told them with a grin. "I've still got the bunk beds, you know. Don't use the spare room for anything other than having you four for a couple of days."

The four children turned to John expectantly then, staring across the table with wide, pleading eyes.

"Jack and I will have to discuss dates," John told the kids with a small smile. "And I doubt he'll want you four for long, not after you dug up his garden last time."

The conversation changed after that, Rose listening in relative silence as the others talked. Donna complained about how her ex, Lance, had tried to get hold of her again, insisting he was sorry and that he wanted another chance, but she'd refused. In all fairness, he had jilted her at the altar to run off with the woman he'd been having an affair with. Martha and Mickey explained they were looking to move out of their one-bed flat to get a small house, and Sarah Jane popped by for a little while as she happened to be passing the pub. Their food arrived and Sarah Jane took her leave, the kids happily tucking into their food and the adults chatting as they ate. John, however, kept a close eye on Rose. He knew she liked chips, but she was still only picking at them. She'd calmed down a bit since they'd first gotten there, eyes no longer darting about, but she still looked a little worried. Eventually, everyone had finished eating, and the warm sun was just beginning to set when the kids asked to walk along the beach.

"Don't run off too far," John called after the children as they ran off across the sand.

Martha and Mickey followed, hand in hand as the wandered across the sand. Donna was after them, grinning as she watched the children chase each other about, and John was wandering a little after her, glancing over his shoulder every now and then to look at Rose. She was wandering up the beach, talking quietly to Jack, and while John wanted to know what they were talking about, he didn't want to intrude. Rose had been quiet ever since the business at the church fete and seeing that Adam bloke, and if she was finally opening up, John would leave her be. He wanted to be able to help her, but he couldn't do that if he scared her. And so, he picked up his pace and caught up with Donna, leaving Jack to talk with Rose.

"I just hate feelin' so scared all the time," Rose admitted quietly to Jack, glancing up the beach towards the others. "Thinkin' that they're gonna find me."

"But you've not seen this bloke since," Jack reasoned gently. "Might not have even been him."

"I suppose," Rose sighed. "But I just feel…. I dunno, I guess I feel alone. An' I shouldn't, 'cause I've got you guys, and John and the kids. But none of you… You're not goin' through this, I can't talk to you about it, you wouldn't understand."

"Try me," Jack responded quietly, suddenly slowing to a halt.

Rose snorted quietly as she slowed to a halt too. She shook her head then, staring at the sand covering her Converses.

"I can't," Rose mumbled. "I can't tell you, you wouldn't understand… You wouldn't want me here, an' you'd be right to hate me."

"I think you worry too much, Rose," Jack told her, bumping her shoulder with his to get her to look at him. "I doubt I'd hate you, and I know John really couldn't."

Rose didn't reply, just looked away across the beach.

"And anyway," Jack continued softly, "I know what you mean. About feeling alone. About not being able to talk to anyone 'cause they wouldn't understand." He paused then, took a deep breath. "I had a daughter once. She'd be the same age as Oscar now. Alice, her name was. Her Mum left me when she was a year old, wanted nothing to do with either of us. Then, when Alice was about eighteen months, she got really ill. Spent months in hospital… An' she didn't make it. John was there for me, of course, as was Donna, but they'd not lost a child, they didn't… There was no way they could understand. They tried their best, but…" He trailed off, sighed, looked at Rose. "What I'm saying, Rose, is that we might not understand, and I get that you're reluctant to talk because of that. But don't write us off just because we haven't been through what you have. We might be able to help anyway. Just by being here."

Rose managed a weak smile then, and glanced up the beach.

"We'd better get a move on if we're gonna catch up with that lot," Rose told Jack quietly.

And then, she was off.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: In which the Vicar has a chat with Rose, and things begin to get a lot more complicated...**

**Trigger Warning: References to dub-con/non-con**

It was April, and John was uncertain. Rose's contract was due for renewal in just two weeks; the end of the month. And yet, she'd made no suggestions as to whether she would extend the contract or end it. John desperately hoped it would be the former, but Rose had been so quiet recently that he wasn't sure. She'd been shaken, he knew, after that alleged sighting of her ex's mate, Adam Mitchell. But Jack had talked to her- John still didn't know what exactly about, other than that Jack had mentioned Alice- and Rose had seemed a little happier for it.

He hadn't broached the subject of the mobile in the garden, thought, and he didn't intend to. Yes, Rose had secrets, but there was a reason she hadn't shared them with him, and John wanted to respect that. Still, it made him a little uneasy, and he tried his best to block out the thoughts of Jimmy Stone and his friends finding Rose, and attacking her, possibly even whilst out with the children. But he couldn't keep thinking like that, he knew, not without going mad.

It was Donna who brought him out of his thoughts, thumping him on the arm and glaring, before nodding at her Granddad, who'd just entered the shop.

"Hi, Wilf," John greeted, shooting a glare in Donna's direction before smiling at the man.

"Hello, John," Wilf greeted with a small smile as he reached the counter. "How are the children doing?"

"Well, they're alright," John responded with a slight inclination of his head. "As well as can be, given the circumstances."

Wilf nodded in understanding. It had been the one year anniversary of Romana's death in March, and while the kids hadn't seemed to notice at first, it seemed to have hit them all in the past few days. Coupled with Rose's nervous energy, the children were getting themselves quite wound up at times.

"And how's Rose?" Wilf asked, brow furrowing. "Donna told me about what happened at the church fete."

John sighed then, while Donna looked worried.

"Not particularly good," John admitted after a moment or two. "Keeping herself to herself. She's really shaken up, and she doesn't want to talk about it…"

"What about Harriet Jones?" Wilf asked. "She's helped Alex."

"Alex is twelve, Gramps," Donna pointed out sceptically. "It's one thing to talk to a twelve year old about his Mother's death, it's an entirely different thing to talk to a twenty-three year old woman about the possibility she is being stalked by her crazy ex's best mates."

Wilf shook his head then, a little annoyed.

"Just a suggestion, sweetheart," he told Donna with an annoyed sigh. "Only trying to help." Then, he turned his attention to John. "Now, thought you might want to look through some of these books…"

And then, Wilf was hefting a bag of books onto the counter, and the conversation was forgotten.

**~StormWolf10~**

Rose stood in the playground of Heartshaven Primary on her own, arms wrapped around her protectively as she waited for the children to come out of school. All around her, parents and guardians were chatting to each other, oblivious to the fact Rose was even there. All except for one person. Rose could see them approaching from the corner of her eye, and she clenched her jaw. She wanted to be alone, why couldn't anyone see that? It was bad enough that John and Jack and Donna kept asking if she was ok, that Martha and Mickey kept popping by, or ringing up, insisting they were asking about the kids, but Rose knew they were asking about her. Why didn't they understand that she needed to be alone? That she was doing as she was asked of her; her job. John was getting concerned, but she was still doing her job competently; she took the kids to and from school, they were never late, were always out of bed on time, got their breakfast and their lunch bags. They did their homework when they were meant to; Rose did the washing if they'd gotten something down their school uniform during the day… She was being an au pair, and yet John was insisting that she'd withdrawn from him.

Maybe she had, maybe he was right. But she'd only withdrawn because she'd gotten too close. Rose was only there to be an au pair to the children, and that's what she did. She wasn't there to be their Mum, or to be a wife, or even a friend, to John. Her priority was the children and their schooling. Just because she'd withdrawn from being John's friend didn't mean that she was withdrawing completely.

But the person was still approaching, and was close enough now for Rose to see that it was a man. She tensed. They'd found her, of that she was sure. What would happen to the kids? Would they hurt them? Rose was almost ready to run, when a hand came down on her shoulder.

"Are you alright, Rose? You look a little startled."

Rose blinked, wide-eyed as she turned and came face to face with Gallifrey's vicar, Rory Williams. He was Amy's husband, Melody and Anthony's father, and was apparently only there for the school run. Rose let out a sigh of relief, stumbling back slightly as she did so.

"Rose?" Rory asked immediately, expression worried as he grabbed at her arm so she wouldn't fall over. "Are you alright?"

Rose nodded, taking another deep breath before smiling weakly.

"Yeah, I just thought…" Rose began, before shaking her head. "Doesn't matter."

"Ah," Rory responded, brow furrowing. "You thought I was that man from the church fete."

Rose's brow furrowed slightly then, and Rory smiled slightly.

"Well, you and John did have my kids with you at the time," Rory pointed out with a small smile. "Donna explained what had happened when she dropped them back."

Rose nodded, and they lapsed into momentary silence, both turning as the bell rang and children began spilling out of the doors.

"You know," Rory continued suddenly, voice quiet so they wouldn't be overheard, "you can always come and talk to me if need be. Or Amy, she likes a good chat." He paused, looked over when Rose didn't respond. "Doesn't have to be religious," he told her with a small smile, "we can do a chat over tea and biscuits too."

Rose responded with a small smile then, and nodded slightly.

"I might get back to you on that," she admitted softly.

Rory nodded, before turning away as Melody barrelled into him. She was closely followed by a beaming Olivia, who greeted Rose in a similar manner. As she saw Oscar approaching from across the playground, Rose realised her conversation with the vicar was over.

**~StormWolf10~**

"An' then Mrs McCrimmon gave me a sticker, 'cause she said my drawing was the best," Olivia concluded her story with a grin, bouncing along beside Rose.

"Yeah?" Rose responded, smiling slightly at the girl.

Olivia nodded eagerly. Rose felt a little bad, actually, as she'd hardly been paying attention to a word the eight year old had said. But then Oscar was stepping closer to her, with a worried glance over his shoulder before he met Rose's gaze.

"Rose," the boy began slowly, brow furrowed, "I think we're being followed."

Rose swallowed, and tried to keep a calm exterior.

"I know," Rose responded quietly, meeting the boy's gaze. "They've been following us from just outside the school. Just keep calm and quiet, and don't tell Livvy or Felix, yeah?"

Oscar nodded, troubled, and turned his attention back to where they were. They were almost home, he realised.

"Why are they following us?"

He saw Rose out of the corner of his eye, saw her look over, surprised by his sudden, quiet question.

"I don't know," Rose responded, before glancing down at Felix, who was holding her hand.

Oscar sniffed. He didn't believe her for a second.

**~StormWolf10~**

As Rose shut the door to 10 Newman Road firmly behind herself and the children, Adam Mitchell smirked.

"Looks like we've got her, boys," he murmured, before turning back to the other men.

Jimmy had been good on his word, sending backup down to Gallifrey just a day after Adam had initially called. It had taken almost a month for a plan to be devised, and it had had to be approved by Jimmy, but they were finally doing it.

"Why don't we just bloody take her now?" one of the men growled in annoyance, fists clenched. "Those kids aren't exactly gonna hold us back."

"Don't be a prick, Daryl," Adam responded in annoyance. "We take her now, that bloke who owns the house will be callin' the Police. Besides, not sure about the girl and the little boy, but the older lad might phone the Police himself, or go get help. We can't risk that."

The man- Daryl- snorted. Another man, shorter than Daryl and with dark blonde hair, looked a little worried.

"Adam's got a point," the blonde man said, shrugging uncertainly. "An' we don't wanna get the kids involved, really."

Daryl glared at the man, before sneering.

"Dunno why Jimmy even sent you, Pope. You're no bloody use to us. Don't even know why you're in this business."

"At least he can talk, unlike those two grunts you brought into the group," Adam responded with a smirk, before nodding to the two, burly men behind Daryl. Adam didn't even know their names, despite having worked with them for over a year. They were good for muscle, though, so he couldn't complain. And if he did complain, he wouldn't come out of it looking pretty.

"So when do we come back, then?" Daryl asked suddenly in annoyance. Clearly, he was getting impatient.

"Why do you care?" Elton Pope asked in confusion.

Daryl sniffed.

"Jimmy said I could have a go with Rose, after him," the man responded carelessly. "I just wanna make sure I get my lay."

Elton looked away, seemingly pale, and Adam couldn't help but smirk. What Elton Pope was doing playing this game, was anyone's guess. If the man couldn't even stand to think about why Jimmy had kept Rose around for so long, he really shouldn't be in this line of business. Particularly with Jimmy's gang; with Jimmy's gang, there were always two sides- the business, and the women. Well, woman. Until Rose had buggered off to Gallifrey. And what was done with her always depended on how well business had gone that day; if it had gone well, everyone got a turn with her in the bedroom; if things hadn't, the sitting room became their boxing ring.

Shaking his head, Adam returned his thoughts to the matter in hand.

"We do it as Jimmy specifies," Adam told them calmly. "Jimmy wants the letter first, then we move in and take Rose. We need to distance this Smith guy from her as much as possible before making our move."

"And then?" Elton asked with a frown.

"Then," Adam smirked, "we take her back to London. Let's just hope Jimmy's up for sharing that night, eh?"


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: In which we meet the villains of the piece, John gets mail, and Rose realises she's not as safe as she seemed.**

"So she's definitely there, at that address?"

There was a pause, as the person on the other end of the phone responded.

"I see. And would it be possible to get her on her own?"

Another pause. Another reply. The man nodded.

"Good. See that it's done. Get the letter there when he's likely to see it but she's not. Can't have her fucking this up for us too."

The man sighed in annoyance then, before hanging up. He sat back in his chair, dirty blonde fringe hanging over his cold eyes. The room he was in was a tip, the floor covered in beer cans and cigarette butts and the remains of meals, but the man didn't seem to care.

"Well?" another voice in the room asked.

"Well, what?" the blonde man responded, scratching idly at his arm. Both arms were covered in large tattoos, a large star on his left arm, and an indecipherable pattern of black shapes on his right. He shifted in his chair, so he was lounging quite casually.

"You know what I'm asking, Stone," the other man growled from across the room.

The blonde man looked up then, cold blue eyes locking onto the man's brown ones.

"Call me Jimmy, please," the blonde man responded with a smirk. "After all, Harry, we have been working together for some months now."

The other man, Harry, sniffed, wrinkling his nose at the state of the room. He looked out of place in his suit and tie and tattoo-free skin.

"Don't fuck with me, Stone," Harry continued after a few breaths. "Just bloody tell me, have those thugs of yours confirmed her location?"

Jimmy Stone watched Harry Saxon for several long moments, a lazy smirk on his face.

"My 'thugs', as you call them, could very easily get rid of you, Saxon," Jimmy stated after a long pause.

"Is that a threat?" Harry asked, anger beginning to rise. "Are you threatening me, Stone?"

"No," Jimmy replied calmly, still lounging in his chair, "not threatening you. Just stating a fact."

Harry Saxon clenched his jaw then, glaring across the room at the younger man.

"Just bloody confirm it," Harry growled out again.

"So demanding," Jimmy smirked with a shake of his head. "You need to relax, Harry. You'll give yourself heart troubles if you carry on like that."

"Bit rich coming from you," Harry responded quickly.

"Perhaps," Jimmy conceded, although he was still smiling. "But that's just my line of business."

Across the room, Harry launched himself forward suddenly, out of the battered armchair to grab Jimmy by the neck of his t-shirt and haul him to his feet.

"Just fucking confirm it, Stone," Harry hissed angrily. "Fucking admit it. I've kept my side of the deal, time for you to keep yours!"

"Alright, alright," Jimmy responded, hands in a 'surrender' position despite the fact he was smirking. Clearly, he wasn't fazed by Saxon. "I'll admit it, we've confirmed her location!"

"And I get my delivery tomorrow?" Saxon asked uncertainly, still not releasing Jimmy from his grip.

"You'll get your delivery tomorrow," Jimmy confirmed.

Harry watched him for a few moments, before finally releasing him.

"I'd better," he spat out angrily. "Else I'll find that little tart of yours myself!"

Then, Saxon sniffed, spun on his heels, and stormed out of the bedsit. Jimmy watched him go, vaguely amused.

"Doesn't have a fucking clue what he's doing," Jimmy murmured to himself with a smirk. "Bloody amateur."

Then, he reached for his abandoned mobile, dialling a number.

"Lumic? It's Jimmy. Stone, yeah. I need a favour," Jimmy smirked as he spoke. "We're bringing Rose Tyler back to London."

**~StormWolf10~**

It was Saturday morning when the letter came through the door. Alex picked it up with a frown, turning the envelope over and over in his hands. The address was handwritten, and it bore no stamp, so it had been hand delivered as well. Frowning even further, he headed into the kitchen.

"It's for you," Alex stated as he pressed the letter into his hands. "Where are the others?"

"In the TARDIS," John responded absently as he frowned at the envelope he'd been given. "And Rose has gone to see Harriet."

He was vaguely aware of Alex disappearing into the garden, then, but he was more interested in solving where the letter had come from. The address wasn't written in handwriting that he recognised, and there was no stamp, which only confused him further. Curiosity getting the better of him, John gave up analysing the envelope, and ripped it open. His brow furrowed further as he began to read.

_Dear John Smith,_

_I must say I am terribly sorry to have to inform you of this in such a way, but I simply thought this was best. I was deeply surprised when an associate of mine informed me that you have taken on one Rose Tyler to be an au pair for your four children, and even more surprised that you would allow her to live under your roof. You are a braver man than I._

_And that is why I am writing to you about such matters, for the safety of yourself and your four children. I hope that you take heed of this advice and rid Rose Tyler from your home immediately upon receipt of this letter. Rose Tyler is not a person you would want around your children, of that I am sure, and certainly not a person you would want sharing a house with them. She has deceived you, your children, and your friends. Whatever she has told you about herself, or her past, is wrong. I assure you, while Rose Tyler may appear charming and friendly, her past is nothing more than a fabricated lie. _

_I had the great misfortune to grow up near Rose when we were children. While I have heard rumours that she has informed you she is an orphan, this is simply not true. We grew up on a council estate in South East London together, the Powell Estate, and while her parents are not well-off, they are happy there. Her brother Tony works as a mechanic at a nearby garage, and is expecting a child with his girlfriend in the autumn. _

_Again, I pray you take heed of my warnings and rid your house of Rose Tyler. There is a reason she has insisted to you that her family is dead; they've disowned her. At the age of eighteen, Rose Tyler entered a gang that would hang around the estates, and has been dealing drugs with them for the past few years. Her parents are hoping that she's come clean now, as she told them in her last letter home, but I am distanced enough from Rose Tyler for her to be unable to pull the wool over my eyes. It is highly unlikely that she has stopped dealing, John, and I am only telling you this for the safety of your young children. I also feel it is unlikely that she is only dealing on street corners. I can only suspect, from circulated rumours around the estate and associated pubs, clubs and bars, that Rose has indeed moved on to a wider drug circle. It would not surprise me in the slightest; she was always a smart girl, knew how to pass on drugs without getting caught._

_As I have said, I am only telling you this because I feel it is something you need to know. I would not like either you or your children to come to harm because of Rose Tyler's drug habits. But I must also ask of you, not to tell Rose it was I who sent you this letter. She knows I oppose of what she does, and she also knows where I live. While she may be in Gallifrey with you, I'm in London with many of her associates, who would be more than willing to hurt me as long as Rose Tyler gives them a cut of her latest deal. _

_But please, be careful, John. You need to get Rose out of your house, but don't put yourself or your children in danger. Rose is capable of a great number of things, and while I sincerely hope murder is not one of them, your children are small and I do not know Rose as well as I used to._

_Please, take care._

_Elton Pope._

Oscar appeared at John's elbow then, grinning.

"What's that?" the boy asked eagerly, frowning.

Almost immediately, John folded the letter up, wide-eyed.

"Nothing that concerns you," John responded with a strained, small smile. "Why're you in here."

"Was getting a drink," Oscar replied, crossing to the fridge.

He grabbed a bottle of juice, and moments later, John was alone again.

**~StormWolf10~**

"Well, now," Harriet began with a smile. "What can I do to help you, Rose?"

"I'm not really sure, actually," Rose admitted with a small smile. "John suggested I come talk to you."

Harriet smiled, readjusting the pad of paper settled on her lap.

"I, uh, I guess it has somethin' to do with the church fete the other week," Rose conceded after a few moments. "I… I thought I saw someone I knew. From London."

"And why would John think that that means you need to see me?" Harriet asked calmly, smiling persistently.

Rose blinked. Took a deep breath. Spoke.

"Because I think they're here to kill me."

**~StormWolf10~**

John was shaking. Whether from fear, or rage, he didn't know. He didn't care. He just knew that he couldn't let the kids see him like this. The letter was on the kitchen worktop, John's hands braced either side of it as he trembled. Rose was still out, at a counselling session with Harriet, and John was beginning to wonder whether he'd need a counsellor himself after this.

All joking aside, John couldn't help the rush of terror that shot through him at the prospect of Rose hurting his children. They all loved her so dearly, and he'd been the one to bring her into the house… But it couldn't be true, could it? Rose Tyler wasn't a drug dealer, and certainly not a killer… But John found he could no longer be certain. He stood at the kitchen window, watching the children run around the garden.

Alex. He'd grown up so much in the past year. Had had to, really. Lost his Mum, started senior school… John was losing him, of that he was almost certain. Becoming more independent each day. He missed the days, he found, when Alex would want to do experiments with him, and they'd set fire to the kitchen curtains, or blow a hole in the garden from a homemade rocket. But they hadn't done any of those things in over a year, not since before Romana had died. It had all been too sudden, for all of them…

Then there was Oscar. 10 year old Oscar. He'd be 11 in just over two months, ready to begin secondary school. John frowned then, trying to picture his little boy in the same blazer and tie that made up Alex's school uniform. Somehow, he just couldn't see it. No, that wasn't true. He didn't _want_ to see it. Because that would mean having another child becoming more independent, being one step closer to them moving out. And John didn't want that.

Olivia. Little Livvy. Beaming away as her brothers chased her round the garden. She was eight now, and it all seemed a little too much. John watched her then, so much like her Mother as she laughed and jumped about in the garden, her feet bare and toes curling in the grass. She'd been so shy at first, after Romana had died, trapped in a house with her Dad and her three brothers. Her only outlet had been Sarah Jane and Donna and Martha and Sylvia, and none of them ever quite matched up to her Mother. But then Rose had come along, and…

John shook his head, dislodging the thought with a frown. He turned his attention to his youngest child.

Felix. Four years old, and almost completed his first year in Primary school. He'd grown a lot, didn't look so small against his older siblings now. He was still clinging to his battered Tigger toy, though, clutching it in one hand even as he ran around the garden, giggling. Sylvia had told John to take it off him, that he should be going without the comfort toy during the day. But John hadn't had the heart to take it off him, not after all he'd been through in recent months. Felix had stopped carrying it about with him for a little while, latching on to either John's or Rose's arm, instead. But now Rose was gone, keeping herself to herself, and after that letter, John wasn't sure if he should let her back at all. And Felix was back to his comfort toy.

And then, another image overwhelmed him, blocking out what he was really truly seeing. Instead of seeing his four children, running round the garden happily, playing and laughing with each other in the grass, John was met with the sight of blood staining the carpet on the stairs, of smears of blood on the walls leading to the study room. Of Alex's broken body on the floor, Oscar, Livvy, Felix… All looking so pale, so broken. They all looked so small in death.

Gasping, John pulled himself out of the thought, tears streaming down his face. He knew what he had to do, for the children, for himself… Hastily wiping at his tears, he ran for the phone.

**~StormWolf10~**

"Thanks for this, Jack," John sighed as he handed over the last of the kids' bags to the man.

"No problem," Jack responded quietly. "You just get whatever it is sorted, ok?"

John nodded, rubbing his hands over his face.

"I think I need Rose to leave," John admitted quietly to his friend. "Got a rather worrying letter in the post today."

The kids had already disappeared upstairs to the spare room, insisting on choosing which bunk they'd sleep in while they stayed at Jack's. John and Jack talked quietly downstairs, John explaining quietly an amended version of the letter he'd received.

"And you believe it?" Jack asked quietly, brow furrowing.

"I don't know," John admitted softly, shaking his head. "I just don't know Jack. I don't even bloody know what's up and what's down at the moment! I mean, on one hand, Rose couldn't be capable of that, could she? But… But on the other…."

"What?" Jack prompted.

"Well," John sighed, "she did only want a six month contract. And she said she'd only renew it if I still wanted her after that." He paused. "It's like she knew, Jack! Like she knew that these guys were gonna come after her, tell me what she's really like…"

"Guys?" Jack echoed. "Thought it was just the guy from the fete."

John shook his head.

"She was followed home the other day, Jack," John muttered angrily. "By a couple of blokes. She had Oscar, Livvy and Felix with her. Livvy and Felix still don't know, but Oscar saw them. Rose said she didn't know why they were following them, but Oscar didn't believe her, and came to see me."

Jack opened his mouth to reply, but then the kids were bounding down the stairs happily.

"Jack had TARDIS blue duvet covers, Daddy!" Felix announced happily as he barrelled into John's legs.

"Thought you'd like them," Jack grinned. "Have you any idea how difficult it is to find bed sheets that match your outhouse?"

John managed a weak smile then, bending down to give Felix a hug.

"Right, I'll come get you tomorrow night, ok, guys?" John told them as he hugged Felix. "You'd better be good for Jack."

The three younger kids nodded while Alex rolled his eyes. Then, John straightened up.

"You just get this sorted, yeah?" Jack told his friend quietly. "And for god's sake, talk to Rose."

**~StormWolf10~**

Rose returned home rather shaken. She'd told Harriet everything. Well, she'd omitted a few things, but she'd told her the majority of the story. From the day she'd met Jimmy Stone aged 17, up until his men had followed her and the kids home from Heartshaven Primary a few days ago. She'd thought she'd feel better for it; John had said it would be good for her to get it all out in the open. But now, now Rose was even more terrified than ever. If Jimmy found out that she'd told people, if anyone in his circle of associates caught wind of it… She was dead.

She unlocked the door and stepped into the house, frowning when she noticed only John's shoes were by the door.

"Hello?" Rose called in confusion. "Anyone in?"

"Kitchen," John's voice came back abruptly. "We need to talk."

Frowning even further, Rose slipped her shoes off and made her way through to the kitchen. John was sat at the table, face passive, and a piece of paper in front of him.

"Where are the kids?" Rose asked in confusion.

"At Jack's for the night," John responded, tone giving nothing away.

Rose's eyes then moved to the pile of stuff in the corner. Bin bags, she realised. Then, as she got closer, she saw what was in them.

"Is that my stuff?" she asked in confusion, voice beginning to shake a little.

John responded only by nodding at the chair at the opposite end of the table to where he was sat. Confused, and close to tears now, Rose took the seat. John then leant forward, sliding the piece of paper across the table towards her.

"This came through the door today," John told her, watching as Rose picked up the letter. "Hand delivered, address on the envelope hand written." He paused, watching Rose's expression as she read the letter over. "Had some interesting stuff about you in it. Care to elaborate?"

Rose remained silent for another minute as she reread the letter. Then, she set it down on the table, hands shaking, face pale, and tears welling in her eyes.

"It's a lie," she whispered softly, shaking her head as she lifted her gaze from the letter to John's face across the table. "It's not true, any of that. That letter's a lie!"

"You see, Rose," John began coolly. "I'm not sure who to believe, now. You, or that letter."

"But it's all lies!" Rose protested, tears spilling down her cheeks now, but she didn't care. "All of it!"

"Why?" John asked with a shrug, arms folded across his chest. "Why would someone go through all that trouble to frame you as a drug dealer and a liar?" His voice was rising now. "What would they gain from it? Eh? What the bloody hell would they gain from it, Rose?!"

John was on his feet then, yelling across the table, palms flat on the wooden surface as he leant forward.

"They'd gain me!" Rose screamed back suddenly, on her feet too. "They'd gain me, John, don't you see?! This is Jimmy, it's all Jimmy!" She sobbed then, the fight knocked out of her. "All because I was too bloody stupid to realise that I'm his property!"

Rose dropped back into the chair then, sobbing in earnest, and John just stared, horrified. If Rose was telling the truth, if this was her ex… He took a deep breath.

"Start explaining. Now."


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: In which Rose does some explaining, Donna makes some phone calls, and Rose is ready to flee...**

Rose stared at John with wide, tear-filled eyes. She didn't, however, make any suggestion that she was about to speak. John growled in annoyance.

"You put my children in danger," John warned her angrily, still leaning across the table. "You knew the risk, you knew that these men were after you, but you still took my job, you still took my children to and from school, to the park, to their friends' houses. You put them in danger, and you'd better start explaining yourself very quickly, else I'll be calling the Police."

Rose blinked again, and looked away momentarily. Then, she looked back, but still failed to meet John's angry glare.

"I… I can't tell you," Rose whispered, gaze determinedly resting on the wooden table rather than John's face. "I'm sorry, John, but I can't."

"That's not fair," John hissed back, barely controlled anger seeping from him. "That's just not fair. I've told you about Romana, about my past, about my childhood. Donna told you about Lance. Jack told you about losing Alice. We've opened up, Rose, because we felt we owed you an explanation, that you deserved not to be kept in the dark. You are putting my children in danger with your childish stubbornness. You bloody well owe me an explanation!"

Rose's head shot up then, her fear and worry changing to anger in a heartbeat.

"What does it matter?" she asked, suddenly defiant. "You didn't seem to care about hearing my side of the story when you went through and packed up all my stuff."

"You endangered the lives of my children!" John shot back angrily.

Rose looked away stubbornly for a few moments, no comeback to John's argument. But then, she spoke.

"Are you actually gonna listen and let me explain, or are you already intent on believing I want to harm your kids?"

Her voice was monotone, detached, and John then realised that he was no longer talking to Rose Tyler, au pair to his four children, but to Rose Tyler, abused girlfriend of Jimmy Stone.

"I'll listen," John responded quietly. "But I want the whole story. And I want you to explain what's in that letter."

Rose glared at the letter in disdain then, vaguely aware of John taking his seat.

"Is what they said about your family true?" John asked quietly.

Rose remained glaring at the letter for several long moments before looking up to meet his gaze.

"You didn't look through my stuff, then?" Rose asked quietly, a small frown on her face.

"I, uh, wanted it out," John admitted, a little sheepishly now that his anger was seeping away a bit. "Didn't look, just chucked it all in."

Rose nodded slightly, before getting to her feet and going through the bin liners. It took several minutes, but finally she pulled out a small book and brought it over to the table. Then, after handing the book to John, retreated to her previous seat. John blinked, and opened the book. It was a photo album, he realised, evidently an old one. The first Polaroid photo was of a baby in an incubator, various tubes and wires attached. Scrawled at the bottom of the Polaroid were the words 'Rose Marion Tyler. Born 27th April. Weighed 4 pounds 8 ounces.' John turned the page then, and found another Polaroid, with another baby. This time, the caption read 'Tony Joseph Tyler. Born 27th April. Deceased.' There was no birth weight, and as his gaze flitted back to the photo, John was perplexed to find tears welling in his eyes. He blinked them away rapidly, and continued looking through the photos. The man who he presumed was Rose's father disappeared from the photos after Rose was about six months old or so, and the woman- her mother- disappeared only a few photos later. The next few photos of that had different people in, who John didn't recognise, and assumed they were the foster parents Rose had told him about. He closed the book then, pushing it across the table towards Rose.

"I've seen enough," he told Rose quietly.

His cheeks were still somewhat perplexingly damp from tears, and he watched in silence as Rose took the book and settled it in her lap. There was silence.

"They lied about your family, then," John stated suddenly, voice quiet.

Rose's brow furrowed momentarily, before John nodded to the letter on the table.

"Oh," she murmured, before nodding. "Yeah. They're long gone."

They lapsed back into silence, then.

"If…" John began suddenly, before stopping himself, shaking his head.

"What?" Rose asked, looking across the table at him.

"Nothing," John responded, shaking his head again.

"Go on," Rose prompted. "I know you're dying to ask."

John watched her carefully. She was expecting him to ask, he realised; she'd already pre-empted his question. But he could also see that she was terrified of him asking it…

"If they lied about your parents," he began again, slowly, "did they lie about the drugs?"

There was a heavy silence then, John's head shooting up as his brow furrowed at Rose's lack of response.

"Not exactly," Rose admitted quietly after a few moments. "But they've twisted things."

John was wide-eyed, then, panicking. He'd brought a drug dealer into his family home, let her be around his children, his friends…

"I never wanted to agree to it," Rose continued, her voice cutting through the air despite the fact she was still speaking softly. "I started dating Jimmy because… Well, I thought I was in love. I'd gone from care home to foster home to care home, an' then I met him at a club, and we hit it off. He was a musician, let me go to his gigs. Got me out, an' he was the only constant thing in my life at that point. Guess I sort of attached myself to him…" She paused then, shook herself. "Anyway, moved in with him when I was eighteen, as I already told you, an' it was only after a few months that I found out where the money was comin' from. I was naïve, thought it was from the gigs… Turned out he was in a drugs ring, round near where his bedsit was. Him an' Adam, an' that Elton who wrote the letter," she nodded at the letter on the table then. "An' a few other guys. Some of them came and went, some of them stuck around a little longer."

"I only got involved 'cause I was forced to," Rose sighed. "It was that or another beating, and the local hospital was gettin' a bit suspicious. They used Elton to carry the drugs, to take it to whoever was purchasin' them, close the deal an' collect the cash, that sort of thing. But he was ill, an' it was only a little job, so Jimmy didn't wanna call of any bigger jobs to get someone back to take it. So he got me t' do it. We found out pretty quickly that no one suspected me. I didn't go out much, was always tidyin' up or cookin' for Jimmy, so it's not like anyone saw me out an' about with him, except for gigs. They made me do the run again, to the same guy, an' after a while, it just… I dunno, it escalated, I guess. I drew less attention to myself than blokes like Daryl and Elton and Adam, 'cause if anyone saw me in an alley with a bloke, they'd assume we were datin'."

John was listening carefully, arms folded over his chest as he leant back in his chair. He really wasn't liking what he was hearing, but if Rose was to be believed, she wasn't dealing drugs because she wanted to.

"They used you," John interrupted quietly, angrily. "You were eighteen years old, and they used you."

Rose snorted softly.

"You wait till you hear the rest of the stuff, an' that'll be nothing," she warned him quietly.

John huffed in annoyance, but gestured for her to continue.

"So," Rose continued after a few moments, "when they weren't usin' me to complete deals, they were, well, _using me_. Like I said before, Jimmy would give the other guys permission to beat me. 'S kinda what I was there for, particularly to begin with. An' if they'd done particularly well on a deal that day, I had t' shag them. In the bedroom, obviously. Jimmy wasn't big on public exhibitions unless he was the one doin' the shagging."

Rose sighed then, glancing down at the letter still on the table.

"What 'm trying to say," she explained after a moment, "is that this letter is Jimmy's work. He's gotten Elton to write the letter, 'cause you didn't know about him but you knew about Adam, an' they've tried t' twist everything round so that it looks like I was the one in the drugs ring. I was there, can't deny that, but not as an active participant, an' I only transported the stuff and closed deals 'cause it was that or Jimmy would break my legs." She paused then. "'S why he wants me back, I'll bet. I was meant to do a deal, the day I came here. Jimmy's gotten in with the big lot now, an' some bloke who calls himself Lumic. Based down in Battersea PowerStation, he's the biggest drug dealer in the whole of London. Lumic and Jimmy were doing this deal, an' the guy they were dealin' with requested me. 'Course, I scarpered that night, an' I'm not sure if the deal was sealed." She blinked then, took a deep breath. "Even if it was, Jimmy'll still make me pay for leavin' them in the lurch like that."

There was another silence, and then Rose suddenly looked up at John, wide-eyed.

"You have to go," she told him suddenly, panicked.

"Why?" John demanded. "This is my house!"

"'Cause!" Rose protested desperately. "Jimmy knows where you live! He'll be comin', to get me. He's already got blokes here in Gallifrey… Go get the kids, an' go somewhere safe."

"What about you?" John demanded as Rose rushed round the table and tugged him to his feet. "You've got to come too!"

"All the time I'm with you, John, I'm endangering your family," Rose told him seriously, tears welling in her eyes. "Now please, just go!"

She reached up on tiptoes, then, and pressed a kiss to John's cheek.

"I'm sorry," she murmured as she pulled back.

Before John could respond, Rose was pushing him in the direction of the front door, and he did the one thing he could; he ran.

**~StormWolf10~**

As Jimmy Stone surveyed Gallifrey, a cold smile spread across his face. That bitch had ruled him for too long, and now it was time to end it. He had Adam and Elton and Daryl on lookout around the house, and now all he had to do was wait for the phone call. The phone call that would get his property back.

Jimmy ignored the nosy strangers who passed him, who gave him strange and worried looks. Let them stare, he decided. He was only here to collect his property and leave. They didn't need to know who he was. By tomorrow morning, he'd be back in London, just a mysterious figure who'd come and gone from Gallifrey in the blink of an eye.

It was then that his phone buzzed in his pocket, and Jimmy's smile grew. He reached into his pocket and drew out the phone, answering it quickly.

"Mitchell," he greeted with a smirk. "We ready?"

**~StormWolf10~**

John didn't stop running until he was at Arcadia Books. He flew inside, the door banging behind him, causing Donna to look up in alarm.

"John," she frowned, already rounding the counter, "what're you doing here? Jack just called, said he's got the kids, something about you sacking Rose…"

By now, they'd met in the middle of the store, both wide-eyed and panicked.

"Jimmy Stone is coming to get Rose," John interrupted quickly, breathing heavily. "He's already got people in Gallifrey, following her. I got a letter through the door this morning, telling me to throw Rose out, that she was drug dealing, and I shouldn't let her near the kids-"

"Drug dealing!?" Donna cut in hysterically. "Seriously?"

"Rose explained it all though," John hurried to explain. "Jimmy and his mates used her, Donna. Used her for drug dealing, for closing the deals and such. And they'd beat her, and she'd have to sleep with them…"

There was an awful silence, then. Donna just gaping at John, trying to comprehend what she'd just been told. Then, she took a deep breath.

"What can I do to help?"

**~StormWolf10~**

It only took a quick phone call to Amy Williams to get Rory to agree to hide Rose in the church. They didn't give him the full story, of course, but the man was very understanding when they explained Rose was in danger from her ex-boyfriend in London. That done, John called Mickey to get him to go by and pick Rose up. They needed to get her to the church quickly if it was their only chance of protecting her from Jimmy.

And then, John was running from the shop, back up the street as fast as he could. He passed a confused Wilf on the way, who tried to stop him to ask why he'd seen Jack with the kids not that long before. But John ignored the man, brushing him off with a quick "Explain later!" and carried on running up the street. It seemed to take an impossibly long time to get there, his heart in his mouth as he desperately tried to pick up his pace, to run faster… There was every chance that Jimmy's friends had already moved in, that Rose had already been taken… And John wasn't sure what he'd do if she was.

**~StormWolf10~**

It was time to leave. In truth, Rose had always suspected this day to come. She'd just hoped it wouldn't be so… Rushed. So terrifying. She wouldn't even get to say goodbye to the kids, she realised. But maybe that was for the best. Rose had written a letter to each of the children, an explanation to each of them as to why she had to leave. She didn't go into much detail, not even in Alex's letter, but wrote enough for them to understand that she was doing it to protect them, and that she'd miss them.

She'd just settled the letters on the kitchen table when she heard a noise. She'd told John not to come back, told him to get the kids and go somewhere safe. Why wouldn't he listen? Rose moved through to the hallway then, intent on telling John to leave. But then, she stopped.

"Hello, Rose."

Rose swallowed, eyes wide as she stared at Jimmy Stone as he lounged against the broken doorframe.

"Jimmy," Rose responded quietly, hoping he couldn't detect the tremor in her voice.

"Long time, no see, Tyler," Jimmy continued, examining his finger nails. "You left in a bit of a hurry."

"Yeah, well," Rose shrugged, trying to remain calm.

"I don't remember giving you permission to leave," Jimmy announced, suddenly frowning as he pushed away from the doorframe and stepped forward. "You know I get angry when you do things without my permission."

"I'm almost twenty-four," Rose responded, voice quiet but defiant. "I don't need your permission to live my life."

"I," Jimmy smirked, moving forward again as he withdrew a switchblade from his pocket, "have to disagree with you, Rose. You see, you're my property."

Rose swallowed, and looked away. But then, Jimmy had grabbed her arm, pushing the sleeve of her jumper up.

"You see?" he asked angrily. "I've marked you. You're in my group, you're my property."

Rose bit her lip, tears welling in her eyes as Jimmy's filthy fingers traced the edge of her star tattoo. It mirrored the big tattoo covering the whole of Jimmy's left arm.

"An' that's just the legal one, remember?" Jimmy smirked, suddenly pulling Rose closer to him. His fingers dug into her waist, the thumb of his left hand stroking just above her hipbone. "You remember when I marked you, Rose? Do you? 'Cause _I_ do. Remember you almost screamed the flat down. Had to be done, though, love, 'cause it marks you as mine, you see."

He shoved Rose's jumper up then, revealing the crudely carved initials etched raggedly into her skin, just above her hipbone. _JS_.

"You see?" Jimmy asked with a smirk, finger stroking at the scar, and smirking when Rose flinched away from the touch. "You're mine, Tyler. No one else's. Always mine."

**~StormWolf10~**

John had just rounded the corner of Newman Road when he saw Mickey's car parked up outside his house. Mickey was there, looking worried as he stood in front of the gate. Panicked, John picked up his pace one more time.

"Why haven't you gotten Rose?" he demanded his friend angrily.

"Take a look, boss," Mickey sighed, nodding towards the front door.

John looked. And his heart sank. The door was hanging on only one hinge, scratch marks on the paintwork. Clearly, the house had been broken in to. Jimmy Stone was already there.

"Is… Is there any chance she'd already gone?" John asked quietly, suddenly feeling inexplicable tears burning behind his eyes.

Mickey remained silent for a few moments.

"I've heard movement from inside the house," he admitted quietly. "Dunno whether any of his mates are hanging about, though."

John nodded, eyes not leaving the damaged frontage of his home. Then, he made up his mind.

"I've got to go see if Rose is still there," he told Mickey quietly, already moving towards the house. "I need to know if I can help."

Mickey protested behind him, calling him back, but John refused to listen. He pushed the remainder of the door open slowly, wincing as it creaked and thudded, and he wondered how much it would take for it to just fall off. But then, John pushed the thought aside, stepping into the house. As he stepped through towards the stairs, however, he felt his heart stop. There was blood. Smeared across the floor, great streaks of red. The walls had scratch marks on, evidently from someone trying to stop themselves being dragged away. Swallowing, John listened.

"You see, you stupid bitch, wherever you go, you will. _Always. Be. Mine_."

There was a moan of pain then, followed by a sob and a stifled scream.

"This is what you get, Tyler, this is what you get for defying me! You stupid cow, you buggered up the deal for us, biggest deal we've ever had! Lumic's on our backs, insisting we get you back to London. He wants to deal with you himself, an' I doubt you'll come out of it with as pretty a face as you have now."

John edged forward then, following the voices towards the study room. The streaks of blood were newer here, sticky under his Converses, and John swallowed back bile. Taking a deep breath, he stepped into the room.

"Sorry to interrupt," he began, with a smirk and a light tone he really didn't feel, "but can you please explain why you're attacking my au pair in my kids' study room?"


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: In which Jimmy and John come to blows, and help arrives...**

John regretted his words almost instantly, as he watched the cold smirk spread across the man's face. So, this was Jimmy Stone. Dark blonde hair, cold blue eyes, about the same height as John, but broader.

Rose was still on the floor, Jimmy's boot pressed tight against her collarbone to prevent her from getting up. She probably couldn't anyway, John decided, as he spared a glance at the young woman. Her jumper was torn, and stained with blood, marks evident on her arms, chest, stomach. Her legs were relatively unharmed, though, and John only just managed to stop him from sighing in relief. After the things he'd heard about Jimmy, about what he and his friends used Rose for, he was grateful she hadn't been raped.

But then Jimmy shifted, drawing John's attention away from Rose and back to him. As John lifted his gaze from Rose to Jimmy, his eyes caught sight of the switchblade in Jimmy's hand, the blade shiny with blood.

"You must be John," Jimmy announced with a smirk. "How nice of you to join us." He stepped away from Rose, then, but she still made no attempt to get up. It was then that it really hit home for John that Rose was perfectly used to this behaviour this abuse. She knew to stay where she was until Jimmy either forced her to her feet, or left her alone entirely. Jimmy was pacing, then, tapping the blood-slick blade against the palm of his left hand. "It's only fitting, I suppose," Jimmy continued with a smirk, "that you're here to witness Rose's punishment. After all, you are technically the one who took her from me."

Jimmy paused then, smiling coldly at John, eyes cold. John barely suppressed a shiver.

"You see, Johnny boy," Jimmy continued, "Rose Tyler is _my_ property. Whilst in Gallifrey, she is admittedly my _lost_ property, but my property all the same." He paused then, stared down at Rose. His foot went to her ribs, pushing suddenly, and Rose moaned in pain as she was forced onto her side. Jimmy merely raised his head back to John with a smirk. "And yet, you took her in and gave her wages. Now, that to me, suggests that you thought she was free for the taking. Which, incidentally, she isn't."

He crouched by Rose's side then, yanked up the hem of her jumper despite her protests. John almost immediately closed his eyes and looked away. But he wasn't quick enough; he'd already seen the ragged initials carved into Rose's pale skin, already seen that they were crude at best, and had healed awfully.

"You see?" Jimmy asked, tone triumphant. "I've marked her, Johnny, she's _mine_."

John forced himself to meet Jimmy's gaze then, trying to ignore Rose's pained whimpers as she desperately tried to stem the flow of blood from the deeper wounds. He knew they were wasting valuable time, that he should have called an ambulance the moment he saw blood, but he'd been too worried about Rose, too scared that she was already dead…

"On the contrary," John spoke up suddenly, his voice low and angry, "that proves nothing. Rose is a human being, she is not owned or controlled by anybody."

"_She_," Jimmy spat, on his feet in an instant, stepping closer to John as his face contorted with rage, "belongs to _me_!"

**~StormWolf10~**

Mickey was getting uneasy. He could hear shouting from inside the house, John's voice and another man that he didn't recognise. He'd called the Police, but they'd said something about some sort of hold up, something about a car crash in the centre of town, and no Police could get to them any quicker than a quarter of an hour. Mickey had cursed then, before relenting, and asking about the possibility of an ambulance. When that got a similar response, Mickey had hung up, dialling Jack's number. The man had agreed readily to come down and help, insisting he'd find someone to take the kids.

Mickey was still alone, though, and uncertain whether or not to enter the house. There had still been no sign of any of Jimmy's mates, but Mickey wasn't certain that meant they weren't around. There had to be some way he could help…

**~StormWolf10~**

John was spread-eagled on the floor, Jimmy's switchblade millimetres from his throat.

"Say it!" Jimmy demanded angrily. "Just say it!"

John merely blinked up at the man, too terrified to find his voice. He wouldn't- couldn't- admit to this man that Rose was his property… No, admit was the wrong word. Because it wouldn't be admitting, Rose was nobody's property. She was her own person, the person Rose had gotten to know from her months in Gallifrey, months with living with her, months of her looking after his children.

Rose.

She was still on the floor, John realised, still bleeding and still in need of medical help. He had no idea of what Jimmy had done to her before he'd gotten there, no idea of whether she'd been punched, or beaten, or…

He had to help her.

"She's not yours," John finally spat out, glaring defiantly up at Jimmy Stone.

The man growled, pressing the switchblade into John's neck.

"Wrong answer! She's mine, you know she's mine! I've marked her!" Jimmy responded angrily.

The blade was drawing bloody, John could feel it, but he tried to blank it out.

"You marked her with initials," John noted, teeth grit. "Initials that we both share! Those 'marks', as you call them, mean nothing more than that you're a bully! A tattoo doesn't mean you own her, having the same tattoo doesn't make her yours!"

And then, the blade was gone from his neck, tossed aside. But that was a short relief, as John felt Jimmy's hands closing in around his neck…

Everything was a bit of a blur after that, a hazy fog as John struggled to breathe. He was vaguely aware of Rose's sobs, of footsteps approaching, but all John could do was faintly claw at the hands at his throat… Then, they were gone. Jimmy's weight was gone from his body, and he could suddenly breathe again. Panting heavily, eyes moist with unshed tears, John hauled himself up onto his elbows.

"John? You alright, mate?"

John looked round then, to see Jack in the doorway of the room, restraining Jimmy Stone with Mickey. John blinked, brow furrowing, and his gaze moved to Rose as he detected movement. Rory Williams was there, crouched worriedly beside her, and trying to help stem some of the bleeding.

"Ambulance!" John rasped suddenly, already launching himself across the floor to Rose's side. "We need an ambulance!"

"They're coming, boss," Mickey responded, struggling as Jimmy thrashed between him and Jack. "But it'll take a while. Police have been called, too. Tried getting hold of Martha, but there's been no luck."

John nodded, only vaguely taking in what they were saying to him as he rolled Rose onto her back. She moaned at the movement, biting her lip as her eyes fluttered shut. John watched her worriedly for a moment or two, before her eyes opened again.

"Hey," she murmured quietly, shifting uncomfortably. "Thought I told you t' get out?"

"Thought I told you that you had to come too," John countered softly. "I meant it. Wouldn't dream of going anywhere without you, not now."

Rory had backed away a little, to give them some space, but he was still trying to keep pressure on Rose's injuries, so he couldn't go far. Then, John suddenly blinked, and raised his head to Jack.

"Where are the kids?" he asked worriedly.

"With Donna," Rory interrupted with a small smile, "at mine and Amy's. Jack phoned me about coming down here, and when Amy heard Donna had the kids, she suggested they went round there. Keep them a bit occupied playing with Melody and Anthony."

John nodded, returning his attention to Rose.

"So the kids are safe?" Rose asked quietly, brow furrowing. "No one got them?"

John shook his head, shifting on the floor so he could lift Rose onto his lap.

"They're safe," he told her quietly, managing a weak smile for the first time in what felt like forever. "They didn't find them."

Rose nodded, eyes fluttering shut again. This time, they took longer to open again.

"Rose?" Rory prompted worriedly, shifting a little closer to her and John.

"Hurts," Rose managed to gasp out suddenly, one hand gripping weakly at the jumper John was wearing.

"I know it does," John told her quietly, reaching down to grasp her hand in his. "But you've got to hold on, just for a few more minutes, Rose. Just until the ambulance gets here."

But Rose shook her head then, tears spilling down her cheeks as she buried her face in John's now-bloodstained jumper.

"I can't," she murmured tearfully. She paused, took a few stuttered breaths, and raised her eyes to John. "I'm sorry."

And as the sound of sirens filled the air, Rose sagged in his arms.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: In which we reach the end of our story...**

John Smith took a deep breath as he fiddled with his tie. He'd had to dig out a suit from the back of his wardrobe; it had been a long time since he'd had need for one. He and Romana would go out for dinner sometimes, on their anniversary, and they'd always made an effort to dress up. Still, no need for that anymore.

But this time, John wasn't dressing up for a special occasion. Well, not a positive special occasion. In truth, he didn't want to go, but he had no choice. And so, he'd pulled out the brown pinstripe suit and put it on. Sylvia would have the kids for the morning, while John went where he needed to go. He didn't want them coming, it would only upset them. Wilf was looking after Arcadia Books, so Donna could attend as well. She was his emotional support, John knew, and he'd most certainly need her there.

"Dad?"

John turned then, to see Alex in the doorway, a frown on his face.

"Donna's here," the boy added.

John nodded then, reaching for his shoes.

"I'm just coming," John responded, sitting on his bed to pull his shoes on.

Alex nodded, and left the room. It didn't take John long before he was following the boy into the still-unfamiliar sitting room of the flat. They'd moved. Had to, really. The kids had been reluctant to return there after John had sat them down and explained about what had happened to Rose, and himself. They'd seen the healing cut on his neck, seen the bruises from where Jimmy Stone had tried to strangle him. Alex and Oscar had gone quiet after seeing their father's injuries, while Olivia and Felix had cried and hugged him. It had been agreed that they wouldn't- couldn't- return to 10 Newman Road. John had tried scrubbing the blood away, tried repainting the walls, but he could still see the traces of the assault, could still smell the iron tang of Rose's blood. It had all been in his mind, of course, and the house had already had several offers despite only being on the market for a few weeks. Evidently someone wanted the house, if not the Smiths.

They were in a rented flat for the moment, while they sorted themselves out. They'd had to borrow the bunk beds from Jack's house, all the kids sharing one room in the small two-bed flat they'd managed to rent. The rest of their stuff was in storage, while John looked for another house. Maybe not even one in Gallifrey.

"You ready to go, then?" Donna asked quietly, suddenly appearing at John's side. "Mum's taking the kids back to hers'."

John nodded, managing a small, weak smile.

"I just want to get it over with," he responded quietly.

**~StormWolf10~**

It took longer than John could ever have imagined, his anger growing with every minute that passed. He just couldn't understand why it took them so long. All they had to do was reach an agreement and say a few words.

After what felt like forever, John Smith was running down the steps of the courtroom, Donna hurrying after him.

"Calm down, John!" Donna yelled after him with a groan.

"I'm already late," came his annoyed yell. "I promised Rose I'd be at the hospital by twelve!"

When Donna finally caught up with the man, he was already in the driving seat of his car.

"She's probably fine, you know," Donna told him as she slid into the passenger seat. "The hospital would have phoned if something had happened."

John didn't respond, and instead rather violently put the car into gear and pulled out of the parking space, leaving Donna scrambling for her seatbelt.

"That's not the point, and you know it," John suddenly responded gruffly. "She's been getting herself worked up for weeks about this, she'll want to know the outcome of the trial. Want to know about Jimmy, and the others."

There was an awkward silence then, as John continued driving down the road.

"D'you want me to bring the kids up the hospital later?" Donna asked quietly, watching John carefully. "They'll want to see Rose, you know."

John's face softened slightly then, anger disappearing somewhat.

"Just… Give me a little while to speak to Rose, first, yeah?" he asked quietly, glancing over at Donna. "Bring them up in an hour or two."

Donna nodded, and returned her attention to the road.

**~StormWolf10~**

"Rose?"

Rose shifted in the bed, brow furrowing slightly, but remained asleep. John slipped quietly into the room and took up his usual chair beside the bed. It had been weeks, almost seven to be precise, since Jimmy had attacked Rose. The trial had been rushed through by London Met Police, who'd been after Jimmy for various drugs-related incidences, and they'd charged him with the assault of John, and the continual assault of Rose Tyler during the trial. The judge hadn't even bothered to question how he'd sustained the broken nose or black eyes, and John couldn't recall it happening, but Jack and Mickey had been looking rather smug lately, so he had his suspicions.

They'd caught the others, too; Adam, Elton, Daryl and his two friends. They'd been responsible for the crash in the town centre, been ordered to cause a diversion to stop Police and Ambulances getting to Rose in time. It hadn't worked, of course, but they'd killed an old lady in the process. They'd all been charged with assault and manslaughter.

It had been Harry Saxon who'd tipped Jimmy off about Rose being in Gallifrey, John had discovered. He'd been charged as well, for associated drugs charges. John hadn't actually been all that surprised by that; Saxon had always been slimy, even when they'd been at school together.

He took the time then to watch Rose. She was recovering, slowly but surely, and John had only allowed the children to visit in the past two or three weeks, and only when Rose was awake and strong enough to seeing them. It had been a tense few hours when Rose had first arrived in the hospital, being taken straight down to get the wounds to her stomach sorted out. John had spent much of the past few weeks apologising; sometimes murmuring the words, sometimes sobbing them, sometimes while Rose was awake, and sometimes while she was asleep. But always whilst holding her hand. He had to hold her hand, really, just to reassure himself she was still there. John knew he should have apologised immediately, but he'd just been so terrified, so set on rallying together troops to help protect Rose… But now, now he couldn't seem to stop. He'd said the words 'I'm so sorry' so many times that he was beginning to wonder if they'd lost all meaning. He sighed then, turning his attention back to Rose. She looked so small when she was asleep, John decided, her arms still bandaged, and her body swamped in a hospital gown. Some of the cuts were already nothing more than faint lines now, but some were still evident. There'd been a few particularly deep ones stretching from her wrists to her elbows, that had required extensive stitching, which was why her arms were bandaged. The ones on her stomach had been awful and deep, and one blow had even perforated her stomach. She'd had to have surgery for that, and John knew the scar well, even though it was covered by layers of blankets, a medical gown, and bandages and gauze. Her collarbone had been broken, meaning her right arm was bound up in a sling, and John was willing to bet that had been when Jimmy had been stopped her from getting up. Some of her ribs on her right side were badly bruised, too. Again, John was certain he could pinpoint exactly when that had happened.

There were other marks too, deep bone bruises on her hips and wrists and shoulders, and her legs hadn't come away as unscathed as John had initially thought. There'd been no sign of sexual trauma, though, and John had sobbed in relief at that.

He reached forward then, grasping Rose's hand in his. She had an IV line connected to her, although she was perfectly capable of eating and drinking by mouth. Still, it meant her left hand was bandaged somewhat, to hold the IV line in place, and make it harder for her to pull it out, accidentally or on purpose.

John stayed like that for some time, holding Rose's hand in his, and just thinking. It was only when a voice brought him out of his thoughts that he realised Rose had woken.

"Hey."

John blinked, and looked down at her, smiling slightly.

"How are you feeling?" he asked quietly, before frowning slightly. "Didn't wake you, did I?"

Rose shook her head, returning his smile weakly.

"'M alright," she responded, voice soft. "And by the looks of it, you've been here for a little while."

She paused then, blinked, looked at what John was wearing.

"How'd the trial go?" she asked quietly, still staring at his tie, rather than his face.

No, John corrected as he realised. Her eyes were on the faint scar on his throat. The shirt collar didn't quite hide it from view, but it wasn't particularly noticeable anyway, unless the person knew where to look.

"They were all sentenced," John responded gently, squeezing Rose's hand reassuringly. "They're gone, love. All found guilty."

"All of them?" Rose asked worriedly, meeting his gaze then.

John nodded, managing a small, reassuring smile.

"All of them," he agreed. "You're safe."

Rose nodded slightly then, staring at the ceiling for a few moments.

"The kids coming by later?" she asked suddenly, looking over at John again. "I'd like to see them, an' I'm feeling a lot better."

"Donna's bringing them by soon," John assured her with a smile. "Thought you'd like to see them, and they've been asking for you."

Rose smiled slightly then, and relaxed a little further into the pillows on the bed.

**~StormWolf10~**

When the children arrived, it was like a small hurricane. A nurse watched, unimpressed, from the doorway as John hauled Felix and Olivia off of Rose's bed as they tried to scramble up onto it. Alex settled himself in a chair in the corner of the room, quiet and uncertain as he watched Rose. Oscar did the same, though he sat a little closer to the bed.

Eventually, the disapproving nurse left them alone, shutting the door behind her, and Rose was alone with John and the kids. She'd raised the bed slightly, with the help of John, and they'd since hidden the remote, lest Felix decided it would make a good toy.

"How long do you have to be in here?" Olivia asked from across the room as she scrambled onto Alex's lap.

"Dunno yet," Rose admitted with a small smile. "They want to make sure nothing's gotten into the cuts to make me ill. And they want to check over some previous injuries that didn't heal very well."

John and Rose exchanged a knowing look then. The ragged cuts that spelled out Jimmy's- and, by coincidence, John's- initials had been under scrutiny by medical staff after they discovered Rose had failed to seek medical help when she'd received the injury. It had healed badly, and while Rose had had the wound for years and seemed to be doing alright, they were still insistent on checking it out. Since then, it had been poked, prodded and pulled, and they'd finally taken a tissue sample the day before.

"Daddy said we haveta move," Felix announced suddenly from his position on John's lap.

Both Rose and John opened their mouths to speak, but Oscar beat them to it.

"And he said we might be leaving Gallifrey. But they arrested everyone who was after you, didn't they, Rose?"

Again, Rose went to speak, but Olivia interrupted.

"I don't wanna! I wanna stay here, with Melody!"

Rose swallowed hard then, tears welling in her eyes as the children continued bickering about moving away from Gallifrey, and their friends. John was growing annoyed, Rose could tell, and she squeezed his hand in hers even as she tried not to let the tears fall. This was her fault. If she hadn't come here, if she hadn't brought Jimmy here, these children would still have a life. She could tell John was gearing up to yell at them, to tell them off, and she bit her lip.

"Just stop it! All of you!"

Rose blinked, wide-eyed. She looked to John, who was looking equally as shocked. It hadn't been him to yell. It had been Alex.

Olivia slipped off her brother's lap then, frowning at him as she hurried over to sit with Oscar instead.

"Why're you doing this?" Alex continued in annoyance, eyes damp with unshed tears. "You know why we can't go back, you know that it's not fair on Dad, or Rose! They were attacked, and you lot wouldn't even go in the study room! _That's_ why we have to move, why we can't stay there! We can't live in a house where we're all terrified to go into a certain room, where we're terrified the same thing will happen again! It's not fair, not on us, not on Rose, and not on Dad!"

Alex was crying then, hands clenched into fists as he struggled to hold back tears.

"Alex," John sighed, already moving to lift Felix from his lap, so he could approach his older son.

Alex, however, bit his lip, shook his head and looked away. He heard his Dad sigh again, but didn't look round.

"It's just…" Alex began, before trailing off with a sigh. "Yeah, I'm not gonna like moving away from my friends, or moving school and stuff, but it's not fair on you two. You shouldn't have to stay here, in that house, or even here in Gallifrey, if it'll make you uncomfortable! An', an' I think it would be better, if we moved away. I'd miss Donna, and Jack, and Mickey and Martha, and you'd have to sell the shop, but… I don't think I can be here anymore!"

Rant finished, Alex glared at a spot near the ceiling, trying to ignore the tears now spilling down his cheeks.

"Alex," he heard Rose sigh from the bed, her voice soft. "It's alright. You've had it tough, the past year or so, we all have. There's no need to think you can't tell us these things. It's alright to want to leave, to get the chance to start again… But this is something your Dad needs to consider, whether it's right for all of you."

Alex nodded, still staring at the spot on the wall, refusing to meet anyone's gaze. His younger siblings had gone silent, all watching him. John was still quiet too, apparently unsure what to say. Rose sighed again.

"Come here, sweetheart."

Alex obliged immediately, tears still streaming down his face as he crossed the floor in a hurry. Rose pulled her hand from John's then, reaching across her body to hold her hand out to Alex. He looked a little uncertain, fully aware of the fact Rose's right arm was in a sling, due to her broken collarbone.

"If you're uncertain, come round the other side," Rose told him quietly, a small smile on her face. "Few wires to be careful of, but you might be a bit more comfortable."

Alex nodded, sniffing, and crossed round to the other side of the bed. John moved his chair back to let Alex past, and moments later, he was seating himself on the bed beside Rose. She tugged him closer, pressing a kiss to his forehead. It took Alex a little while to settle, wary of the IV line, and of Rose's injuries. Soon, though, he settled into Rose's side, beginning to relax.

**~StormWolf10~**

It was a while later, as evening dawned and visiting time was comin to an end, that Felix looked up from the sticker book he'd brought with him.

"Daddy," he began slowly, brow furrowing as he looked at John, "when we move, where will Rose go?"

"Well," John frowned, glancing at Rose before returning his attention to his children, all of whom were waiting for an answer. "She'll come with us." He paused then, caught himself, looked over at Rose. "If you want, of course."

"Are you sure?" Rose asked quietly, brow furrowing. "Even after everything?"

"Yeah," John nodded, moving forward to grasp Rose's hand. Alex had retreated back to his chair about half an hour ago, leaving Rose and John enough space between them to lean forward. "I meant what I said, that day in the house. I don't want to go anywhere without you."

Rose nodded, swallowing hard, before turning to the four children.

"And would you be alright with that?" Rose asked quietly, watching them carefully. "If I came with you after I'm discharged?"

Unanimously, all four children nodded, grinning.

"Why wouldn't we want you with us?" Olivia asked in confusion. "You're family!"

"Yeah!" Oscar agreed, nodding eagerly. "An' wherever our home is, your home is, too!"

Rose smiled shakily then, tears welling in her eyes. John immediately moved to her side, hugging her tight.

"Donna's coming for the kids soon," he told her quietly, "but the nurses have said I can stay for the night if I want, and you want."

Rose nodded into his chest, sniffing.

"I'd like you to stay," she admitted softly.

John smiled into her hair.

"Then I'll always stay," he murmured gently. "Forever."

Rose smiled then, head still against John's chest. She was home.


End file.
